


Merlin and The Marauders

by PrincessPersephone123



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV), The Marauders - Fandom
Genre: But he doesn't put up with any bullshit, Dragoon The Great is Back, Gen, Harry Potter - Freeform, He loves the kids, Hogwarts, Magical Merlin, Marauders' Era, Merlin - Freeform, Merlin and the Doctor are old friends, Merlin is dragoon the great, Merlin is in Hogwarts, Merlin is in disguise, Merlin meets the Doctor, Merlin misses Arthur more than words can say, Merlin wants to do some good in the world, Same old Merlin, Sassy Merlin, Slytherin Merlin, The Marauders - Freeform, The Warlock and The Timelord have tea, Wise Merlin, jily, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 21:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17050703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessPersephone123/pseuds/PrincessPersephone123
Summary: Merlin is a teacher in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry imparting his wide and incredible knowledge of magic to young witches and wizards.But this time he is in disguise as Dragoon The Great.Merlin has been serving for a few years when four mischievous and good hearted boys with a love for trouble and recklessness enter Hogwarts and makes him remember his past which he tries so desperately to forget.





	1. The Marauders Meet Their DADA Professor

It was the second period on Monday, and the first years were chattering excitedly inside the Class 104 of the North Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Four boys who sat in the middle of the classroom were laughing and discussing what Defense Against Dark Arts was going to be like.

"This is the class I've been looking forward to the most." said Sirius Black, in excitement as he carelessly put his legs on the desk and hands on the back of his head "It's bound to be a riot!"

"The first year curriculum is pretty basic really. Just beginner spells and some definitions about creatures we should avoid." said Remus Lupin, a boy with shaggy blonde brownish hair and chocolate brown eyes, who who had already opened his books and readied himself for the lesson.

"Remus! You've already prepared! You're going to make the rest of us look bad!!!" groaned James Potter dramatically, a messy dark haired boy with glasses, which made the four boys laugh.

"At least he's got the brains out of all of us James." replied Sirius with a smirk "What have you got?"

"My devilishly good looks and boyish charm." replied back James with a grin that made all of them laugh again.

"Yeah, sure whatever floats your boat, Potter." said Remus rolling his eyes at James making Sirius and Peter laugh and James pout adorably.

"By the way, who is teaching us Defense Against Dark Arts?" asked Peter Pettigrew, a chubby faced boy with blonde hair "Are they any good?"

James Potter cooed as a rabbit hopped over to him out of nowhere and started petting him "I don't know who is teaching it mate. But I've heard the person who is teaching it is a total and complete nutter. He's lost his mind - cuckoo."

All of a sudden, the rabbit that James was petting transformed into a tall and old man with a long, pristine snow white beard, wearing long red robes, making James Potter shriek in horror and Remus, Peter, Sirius jump back and point their wands in alarm while the rest of the class looked at the transformation startled.

"Thank you for that lovely evaluation, Mr. Potter." said the old man in a croaky voice, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

It took a few moments for James Potter to realize what he had just done and who he was talking to "Oh - Oh my - Are you our DADA Professor?"

"What another wonderful realization." said the old man shaking his head at James Potter who was looking at him with his jaw wide open.

"But - but - you were a rabbit." stammered Peter looking at the old man wondering whether he was hallucinating.

"He's an animagus. He has the rare ability to transform into a particular animal at will." replied Remus stunned "I've heard of them but I've never actually seen one before."

"That is correct." said the old man, his lips breaking into a pleased smile "This is very advanced third year Transfiguration knowledge, Mr - "

"Lupin. Remus Lupin." the boy introduced himself shyly.

"Twenty points to whatever House Mr. Lupin is in for knowing what an animagus is. Not many first year students do." said the old man nodding his head in praise to Remus who blushed shyly while his friends clapped him on the back.

"Well that was some super cool wicked animal transformation you did there." said the black haired boy who had his legs up on his desk.

"Thank you, Mr - " 

"Black." said the boy who spat out the words from his mouth as if he didn't like his name at all. As if he loathed his family name. "Sirius Black."

Merlin, who is in disguise as the old man suddenly remembers a familiar face from his past as he looks at Sirius Black. A ruggedly handsome, charming knight with long luscious locks and a love for recklessness. But beneath that facade of recklessness and laughter, he remembers the broken man who didn't want to be associated with nobility because they stood for the wrong ideals. A man who stood and fought relentlessly against power and greed. A man who believed that nobility should be determined by the actions taken by such persons. A man who possessed a kind and generous heart and who was always a good and loyal friend towards Merlin.

Gwaine.

For a moment, Merlin felt tears prick his eyes but he blinked them away as he looked at Sirius Black's stubborn face. 

The old man's eyes narrowed in understanding and it softened "Thank you Sirius."

Sirius looked at the old man in surprise as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. Someone had just called him by his name, not his family name. All of the Professors in Hogwarts made no exception for any student, everyone was to be called by their last name, their family name. But this old man had somehow seen through him and without any hesitation called him 'Sirius'. Sirius did not know whether to be scared or to be grateful and give him a hug.

"Now without any more delay let us start the class. Hello everyone I am your Defense Against Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Dragoon The Great." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a cheeky smile, trying not to laugh at the disbelieving looks on the faces of his students at his name. 

"So - well - Professor I don't want to be rude -" said a girl with blazing red hair who had raised her hand up politely.

"But what you are going to say is rude." finished Professor Dragoon The Great with a knowing look in his cerulean blue eyes.

The girl blushed tomato red that suited her gorgeous red hair "I'm - well - "

"Oh no dear Miss - "

"Lily Evans." replied the girl tucking a strand of hair that had fallen loose.

"Do by all means, go right ahead Miss Evans." encouraged Professor Dragoon The Great to the great surprise of the students.

"Are we expected to call you Professor The Great? Or Professor Dragoon?" asked Lily blushing because the question was straightforward and rude and she didn't want to get into the bad books of her DADA teacher on the first day of class.

"Either one of those are fine. I do prefer Professor The Great, though." replied Professor Dragoon The Great with a amused smile.

He thought he heard Sirius Black whisper loudly "Blimey I already love this guy!"

"Let's get started then." said Professor Dragoon The Great clapping his hands together "Who here has heard of Imps!"

Nearly everyone raised their hands up and a few people looked confused. Professor Dragoon The Great smiled at them encouragingly "Not to worry, you'll learn fast enough. Now anyone who knows anything about Imps offer their knowledge to the rest of the class?"

Lily raised her hand and Professor Dragoon The Great nodded at her with a smile "Yes Miss Evans?"

"Well, Imps are mischievous magical creatures found only in Britain and Ireland. Imps make their home in marshland, where they indulge their slapstick sense of humor by pushing and tripping the unwary." recited Lily and when she finished smiled nervously at Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Very good Miss Evans. Ten points to Gryffindor." praised Professor Dragoon The Great with a approving smile at Lily who smiled back proudly "As Miss Evans correctly stated, imps are tricky little blighters who have a mischievous sense of humor. But there is a way to defeat its trouble making ways."

"How??" asked Peter who was enraptured by Professor Dragoon the Great along with James, Sirius, Remus and the rest of the class.

"Good question Mr -"

"Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew." replied the boy who asked the question.

"Good question Mr. Pettigrew." said Professor Dragoon The Great and he flicked his wand slightly which made Sirius put his legs down from the desk "You can defeat an imp by luring it through its favorite snacks - "

"Insects!" answered a hook nosed, dark haired boy

Although Professor Dragoon the Great was not pleased at being interrupted, he was pleased that his students knew the subject "Yes, Mr. Snape. You can lure the trickster through insects and then use a Knockback jinx to daze it and then cage it or throw it down a gnome hole.And BAM!!!" yelled Professor Dragoon The Great suddenly making his students jump up startled "The tricky trickster is gone - well not forever - but you have enough time to run and save your sanity!"

Professor Dragoon the Great finished his speech to see some of his students looking scared but most of them looked excited and ready to begin. He shook his head at the scared students, trying to sympathize with them.

"Look, this is just an imp. Not a big deal. But there are going to be horrible monsters that you will have to learn to fight in the future and it is my job to teach you lot how to do it. Not just how to do it, but how to look good doing it. If you can't fight a little harmless imp, what hope do you have in fighting other dark creatures?" asked Professor Dragoon the Great looking at the innocent, childish faces around him and then sighed "Look Dumbly- door will probably fire me for saying this to you - I say this to my students every year -I'm not going to shield you lot from the reality. The world is horrible and dark and mad but there is light and wonder and beauty in it and that it worth fighting for. And that is why you're here today. You're here to fight for the good of the world. And I'm going to be by your side, teaching you and guiding you."

There was a moment's silence and then James and Sirius started clapping and the whole class joined them giving Professor Dragoon the Great a thunderous applause that whole of Hogwarts heard. There was thundering applause, loud whistling and fierce hooting and finally Professor Dragoon the Great decided he should stop the class from going bonkers on their first day before Minerva McGonagall came in and demanded an explanation from him. He raised his hand and the whole class went silent immediately, giving them their full attention.

"Thank you for that." said Professor Dragoon the Great solemnly, trying his best not to burst into laughter "But let's get started right? Who's ready?"

The whole class shouted loudly and enthusiastically "WE ARE !!!!"

"Absolutely spiffing. Now remember, they can't hurt you unless you let them. They have no power over you." advised Professor Dragoon the Great seriously "Now wands out, boys and girls."

"But Professor, we aren't going to fight a real imp here, in Hogwarts? I thought they lived in Marshlands?" asked Severus Snape puzzled and confused.

Professor Dragoon The Great smirked at the Slytherin student "I have my ways. And besides how are you going to fight a real imp, if you haven't learnt how to do it? Are you ready to meet a real, live imp?"

The students nodded eagerly as they sucked their breath in anticipation and stood on their toes. 

"Everyone, meet my friend." said Professor Dragoon the Great pointing his wand and flicking it slightly at something covered it with black cloth making the black cloth fall down and revealing an ugly, brown pointy faced and yellow sharp eyed creature in a fully covered tank full of marsh "Meet Jaglaa."

Everyone gasped in horror and disgust and Professor Dragoon the Great distinctly heard a loud voice saying in disgust and shock "Yuck! It must be so hard being so ugly!"

"Silence, you moronic, puny, son of - " began Jaglaa the imp angrily but Professor Dragoon the Great interrupted.

"Ah, ah, ah language, Jaglaa. We are in the presence of children." 

"Yes, infestation of creatures worse than those soul sucking monsters." replied Jaglaa spitefully grinning at the children before him.

"Now let's not be quick to judge." said Professor Dragoon the Great soothingly and everyone marveled at how he spoke at ease with such an ugly and dangerous creature.

"Quick to judge? These beasts are going to curse me!" yelled Jaglaa slamming his hands furiously on the tank making every child take a step back in fear.

"All part of their education." replied Professor Dragoon the Great calmly "And besides you get to play with Wizards crackers and eat plenty of chocolate frogs afterwords. I don't see why you are complaining."

"Fine. Let's get this over with. But I am only doing this because I owe you a great debt." said the ugly creature bowing his head reverently towards Professor Dragoon the Great.

"Glad you remember." replied Professor Dragoon the Great lightly and then turned towards the students who were wearing expressions of anticipation, excitement and fright. "Are you ready for the big bad imp?"


	2. Levicorpus!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin educates his students on blood prejudice.

"Here are your marked essays that you lovely lot submitted to me on the topic of the difference between spells and curses." said Professor Dragoon The Great who was Merlin in disguise, distributing the marked papers to the students.

"Good work, Mr. Snape. Could use a little bit more elaboration on why a spell is more useful than a curse." said Professor Dragoon The Great giving the marked essay to Severus who accepted it and nodded at his teacher.

"He could use a little bit more shampoo for his greasy hair." snickered Sirius Black making James, Peter and Remus chuckle along with some other people in the class. The rest of the students just secretly hid their smiles.

"Or maybe some face wash for his poorly - " began James running his hand through his messy black hair but he was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, I would like to remind you this is your Defense Against Dark Arts class not some class for beauty and hair tips." said Professor Dragoon The Great sharply, giving them both disapproving stares. This made Sirius slink back into his seat because Professor Dragoon The Great who was normally fun and easygoing had called Sirius, 'Mr. Black' which was a sign that he seriously did not like how Sirius behaved. And for some reason, Sirius felt the need to impress and win the approval of his DADA teacher, Professor Dragoon The Great.

But James took no notice of the Professor's warning "Well Snivellus could really use some beauty and hair tips is all I am saying Professor The Great."

"His name is Severus and ten points from Gryffindor." replied Professor Dragoon the Great with a icy look that made James shut up immediately even though he wanted to argue back on how unfair it was to take points away from his house.

Professor Dragoon The Great saw Remus rebuke James and James just shrugging it off nonchalantly. For Merlin, James reminded him too much of a big headed, prattish, dollophead who he knew so well and still remembers vividly even after all these years. Merlin remembers how the clotpole thought that he was entitled to the respect and admiration of everyone around him just because of his privilege and position. Merlin remembers how in that sunny afternoon, when he first arrived in Camelot, the royal prat was surrounded by his laughing buffoons, bullying a poor lad who was his servant. Merlin remembers his sun kissed golden hair and his amazingly bright blue eyes shining in mirth and amusement at the bullied boy's pain. Merlin remembers how he felt in that exact moment, the feelings of disgust, loathing and strong dislike swelled through him against this handsome man who was dressed in red and all he could think about was stopping him and standing up for the bullied boy. Merlin remembers how he stood up to the clotpole in the town square and got his ass kicked by the taunting and amused son of the King, Prince Arthur of Camelot. 

Merlin feels an amazing wave of nostalgia hit him and he grits his teeth and puts himself together. Because he can't break in front of these children, he has to be strong for them.

Looking at James smirking at Severus who sneered back at him, he is reminded more than ever of Arthur in the beginning who did not know that his behavior was immature and hurtful. But Merlin was trying his best as Professor Dragoon the Great to show James that respect was something to be earned and not to be demanded because deep down he saw a good heart inside the cocky, loud and immature boy. 

"Sirius, here your essay and I thought it was very good. Better than last time." said Professor Dragoon The Great handing Sirius his essay and Sirius burst into a proud and pleased smile as he took it in his hands and looked at it as if it was the best thing he had ever done in his life.

"Mr. Pettigrew, I did not ask for one paged essay - I asked for two - it's an half hearted, weak and poor attempt." said Professor Dragoon The Great giving Peter his essay marked all over in red, wondering whether he was being too harsh on the boy. "The next time I receive homework, I expect nothing less than your full effort."

Peter nodded his head frantically and then Professor Dragoon the Great shook his head and proceeded towards Remus Lupin "Mr. Lupin, I am particularly pleased with your essay. I do love how you have included an example from one of Merlin's great adventures where he lifted the curse of Cornelius Sigan."

"Oh, well, I thought it was too much, Professor The Great." replied Remus pleased as he took the essay from Professor Dragoon The Great, his cheeks tinged with a faint, happy pink at being praised for his hard work.

"Nonsense! It was a well written, wonderfully written essay. I loved reading and marking it." said Professor Dragoon The Great waving his hand in approval and then nodded towards James, Sirius and Peter. "I suppose it is too much to ask for your friends to follow your example?"

"You know us so well Professor The Great!" exclaimed James with a proud smile and Professor Dragoon The Great shook his head at the boy, his lips twitching.

"Mr. Potter, your essay is a tragic travesty. The worst essay I've had the misfortune to mark during my tenure in Hogwarts." said Professor Dragoon The Great slamming the essay on James' desk making him jump "How is doodling and writing about Lily Evans being your future wife relevant to the topic of the difference between a spell and a curse?"

Lily Evans blushed a slight rosy pink as the whole class started laughing. Merlin noticed that Severus Snape looked very displeased as he scowled fiercely at James, gripping the edge of his desk very tightly, his knuckles turning white. 

James had gone slightly pink too but he quickly came up with a confident remark "Ooops, sorry Professor. That's the wrong paper."

"And what happened to the right one?"

"Well my owl ate it." replied James confidently making Remus groan, Sirius laugh and Peter chuckle.

"Your owl ate your homework?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great his eyebrows raised so high, that Gaius (May the Spirits Above Rest His Soul) had he been there would have been incredibly proud of him.

"Yes, Professor." nodded James confidently and innocently as if he hadn't given Merlin who was in disguise as Professor Dragoon The Great the most ridiculous excuse in the whole of the wizarding world.

"Do I look like an idiot, Potter?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great in a soft voice, the voice that all children avoided at all costs and knew that it meant danger.

James Potter had the decency to look a little taken aback and Professor Dragoon The Great took that opportunity "Detention, Mr. Potter. Tuesday Night. Six P.M."

"What?" asked James Potter disbelievingly "For not doing homework?"

"Yes. And for not being a responsible pet owner." said Professor Dragoon The Great "You will spend detention cleaning the owlery and tending to the welfare of the lovely birds."

"WHAT???" yelled James in horror and this time Sirius, Remus and Peter began to laugh.

"Mr. Potter, for the love of magic please do keep your voice down. My ears are not what they were before." said Professor Dragoon the Great wincing at James Potter's loud voice which made his eardrums throb "And also ten points from Gryffindor."

"WHATEVER FOR?" asked James waving his hands around in disbelief.

"For yelling inside a classroom to a teacher whose eardrums are sensitive." replied Professor Dragoon The Great enjoying the look of disbelief on James' face.

"But -" James began to protest but thought better of it and shut up.

Professor Dragoon The Great distributed the essays to the rest of the class and then came to the final one and he stopped at the desk of a girl with long fiery red hair and gentle green eyes "Miss Evans, you have achieved the highest marks for this essay. Excellent job my dear! You have outdone yourself!"

"Oh thank you, Professor." said Lily beaming in pride as she took the essay from him "I thought since it was three pages - well -"

"That's why I said you had outdone yourself." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a twinkling smile "Here, chocolate frogs for you as a little prize."

"Hey not fair, how come she gets chocolate frogs and our Remy doesn't get anything?" asked Sirius putting his arm around Remus.

"Mr. Lupin do check your pockets." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a grin.

Remus put his hands in the pockets of his robes and to his great surprise found a huge bar of WizoChoc inside it. He looked at his Professor in surprise and smiled gratefully at him "How did you do that?"

"With great skill." replied the old man with a wink.

"Hey, that's not fair. How come Lupin and Evans gets prizes but we don't?" asked a child in the back.

"That's because they worked for it dumbass." replied Sirius turning around and glaring at the boy who said that offending sentence "They bloody well deserve it!!!"

"Thank you Sirius." said Professor Dragoon The Great trying his best to contain his laughter "If the rest of you put in effort and hard work into your homework, you will be able to win some of my little prizes."Now there are thirty minutes till class is supposed to be over and since most of you have done remarkably well I shall let you have these thirty minutes free before dismissing you."

There were happy cheers and thankful groans as the chattering and the laughing began. Professor Dragoon The Great sat quietly at his desk pretending to read a book, while he really was observing his students. It was one of his favorite past times, observing his students and looking into their potential and imagining what they would and could be. As he listened to his students chatter about various things from Quidditch, to the blueberry muffins they had for breakfast, to Dumbledore's beard, to their secret crushes, when he heard someone say - 

"So how come you got the highest marks from the whole class?" Merlin's head snapped up to see Greengrass, a Slytherin student leaning over towards Lily Evans in a way that made Merlin uncomfortable.

Merlin got the sense that Lily was uncomfortable too but she didn't show it, instead she confidently said "I did my research and worked hard on it."

"Research?" scoffed Greengrass making a few other Slytherins laugh. Merlin who was disguised as Professor Dragoon The Great saw that although Severus' lips twitched a little, he too was uncomfortable.

"Hey don't bother her, Greengrass." said Severus putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Lily shot Severus a small smile and Greengrass laughed "Relax Sev, just picking the mind of the greatest witch in Hogwarts."

"Leave her alone, Greengrass." warned James his eyes unusually dangerous.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Potter." spat Lily making James shocked and reminding Merlin of a feisty, independent, dark haired witch who he knew a long time back.

"Yes, Potter. Leave your girlfriend alone." said Greengrass in a nasty, spiteful tone that made Merlin's or rather Dragoon's skin prickle "Let's see how talented the Mudblood really is or whether she is a deceiving, cheating, lying, conniving, little - "

But whatever Greengrass was going to say next was interrupted by a loud yell of 'LEVICORPUS!' and suddenly Greengrass was hanging in the air by one foot and everyone scrambled out of their chairs to get a good look. Everyone gasped and turned to see who cast that spell and their heads turned to see their old, tall and graceful Professor Dragoon The Great pointing his wand at Greengrass. Then Professor Dragoon The Great pocketed his wand in his bright red robes and walked towards Greengrass who was dangling in the air, and the students parted making the way for their Professor.

"Now, as long as you are hanging up there, there are few things you need to get in to your head." said Professor Dragoon The Great lazily but there was a determined and dangerous look in his eyes "Firstly the use of slurs such as what you called our lovely Miss Evans is derogatory and worthy of punishment."

"She's a Mudblood! She doesn't deserve a place in our world!" yelled Greengrass as he hung up from the air.

"Miss Evans is a exceptionally gifted witch who happens to be a Muggle Born." snapped Professor Dragoon The Great "And something you need to understand about magic, boy, is that you do not choose magic. Magic chooses you. And it has chosen, Miss Evans here and unless you want to challenge the very fabric of this universe, you'll have to take a step back and evaluate your priorities."

"You're a crazy old man !!! You don't understand -"

"Don't talk to me about not understanding Mr. Greengrass!!! I fought in a war that was bigger and madder than you could ever possibly imagine!!! I've seen things that you wouldn't believe and I've lost people that I truly cared about and I've felt pain that a little boy like you will never understand!!!! I hope you will never have to." said Merlin his blue eyes flashing gold for a moment in rage, remembrance and pain "All that blood spilt and all those screams of the innocents - it was all because of ignorance, misunderstanding, hate and prejudice, Mr. Greengrass. War does not discriminate between magic and muggles, Mr. Greengrass, so why should we? Why should we try to divide ourselves when we can do amazing things together? Think about that. All of you."

"So, don't talk to me about understanding because I don't just understand, I have lived through it. And I never want to live through it again!" said Merlin fiercely, his eyes clouded with emotions and unshed tears. 

"Now, let me think - for calling Miss Evans a derogatory slur, fifty points from Slytherin." said Professor Dragoon The Great casually making everyone gasp.

"But sir, Professor - that's your house. You're the head of the house!" gasped Sirius Black in shock.

"Yes, and as Head of the House it is in my power to take and award points as I see fit." replied Professor Dragoon The Great in a sharp tone that made all the Slytherins silent.

"Now Greengrass I am going to let you down but before that I will be giving out your punishments. Your punishment is to write an apology note to Miss Evans and also to apologize to her face and mean it. And you will be serving one month's detention with me."

"Alright, just let me down I'm feeling dizzy." said Greengrass in a panicked voice which made Sirius, James, Remus and Peter bark in laughter.

"Lovely. LIBEROCORPUS!" said Professor Dragoon The Great and flicked his wand and immediately Greengrass landed onto the desk.

"Wowzah! You have to teach me how to do that!" said James Potter his eyes filled with astonishment, amazement and wonder.

"Perhaps, later Mr. Potter." replied Professor Dragoon The Great dryly "Right now, I believe Greengrass has something important to say?"

"I'm sorry I called you - well - you know what, Evans." mumbled Greengrass his gaze nervously darting from a watchful Professor to pretty Lily.

Professor Dragoon The Great smiled to himself a little because Greengrass had not called Lily a Mudblood when apologizing. He may not have realized it but Greengrass was taking baby steps and Merlin would see to it that progress would continue. He hated how the blood prejudice had sprung up and was encouraged and discussed freely and not bought into attention and punished. But Merlin had seen where blood prejudice had lead and he never wanted it to happen again. He wanted a better world and he wanted it to start by educating these children that there are ideas drilled into their heads that are close minded and petty and selfish and wrong.

"Apology accepted." said Lily politely but she kept her distance from Greengrass.

"Alright that's all for today, class dismissed." said Professor Dragoon The Great suddenly feeling tired and exhausted and in dire need of a good Firewhisky.

As the students quickly rushed out, Lily Evans slowly came towards the Professor Dragoon and said "Thank you Professor. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You're welcome, my dear. Mr. Greengrass was quite close minded in what he said. I hope you know that what he said does not hold any truth to it." said Professor Dragoon the Great comfortingly.

But Lily seemed to be standing in the same spot reflecting on something "Mudblood. It means dirty blood, doesn't it? That I'm not like them? I'm a creature of dirt. I'm a freak!"

"Miss Evans -" said Merlin gently and in a voice filled with concern "Lily - I'm going to tell you something very important and you have to listen and understand it."

"Lily,you are not and never ever will be a creature of dirt. You are not a freak! You are a muggle born witch, with extraordinary magic flowing through your veins. You don't have to be ashamed of who you are." said Merlin gently yet in a determined voice "Don't let them make you feel inferior to them because you are not. Miss Lily Evans, you are one of the most gifted witches that I have had the fortune to teach. You're a brilliant witch and a wonderful student , Lily. I'm sure there is no limits to brilliance and talent in the field of magic!"

Lily who had tears in her green eyes, broke into a smile and sniffed "Thank you Professor. Thank you so much!"

"Oh my dear, don't worry. I'm always here for you. Now run along and unleash hell !!!" said Merlin (Professor Dragoon The Great) clapping his hands together making Lily laugh a little as she walked out of the class and looked back and waved at him and he waved back.

Merlin sighed heavily and shook his head because he sees so much of himself in the beginning in Lily Evans. A bright girl who is trying to figure out a purpose for all her extraordinary and exceptional magical abilities. Merlin sees his past self in Lily because he was once a boy who thought he was a monster because of all the extraordinary magic he possessed. He was once a boy who was trying to find a purpose for his magic and he did find his purpose in the form of Arthur Pendragon. Merlin hoped that Lily would not listen to the blindly prejudiced people around her but instead work hard and prove that she too deserved a place in Hogwarts. Merlin hoped that Lily would find her purpose where she would use her amazing talents for the good of the world because that girl had so much brilliance and wonder to offer to the world.

"That was nice of you." said a familiar voice interrupting his thoughts and he sees Sirius Black skulking in the shadows.

"What are you doing here Sirius?" Professor Dragoon the Great asked as he began clearing up his desk.

"I just - what you said about the war - the one you fought in - " said Sirius quietly and Professor Dragoon's head snapped up "I'm sorry about that, Professor."

They stay silent for a moment and then Professor Dragoon the Great replied briskly "The past is the past. The best you can do is to move on and make sure it never happens again."

"Did - I know I'm just a student and it's not my place to ask but - your friends - were they in the war too?" asked Sirius quickly, rushing the question as if he was afraid to ask it in the first place.

"Yes." replied Merlin suddenly feeling the weight of all that happened weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"I'm - well - you don't need to tell me - but what happened?" asked Sirius, his bright mischievous eyes, dull and serious.

"They died. I lost them, a long time ago." said Merlin wondering why on earth he was talking about it, to Sirius of all people and then he sighed "But I carry them with me. They're an important part of me. So even if they are gone away from the world, they're never gone from me."

Sirius nodded silently not knowing what to say and Merlin, Professor Dragoon The Great gave him a smirk "Cheer up Sirius. Now run along to your next lesson."

Sirius smiled back at Professor Dragoon The Great "By the way Professor, I thought you were awesome with what you did to Greengrass. No one has done that before."

"Ah well, I'm one of a kind." said Professor Dragoon The Great shrugging.

Sirius Black laughed at that "See ya around Professor!"

And as Sirius Black left the DADA classroom he suddenly felt the weight of something in the pockets of his robes. As he put his hand into his pocket and took out what was in it, Sirius Black smiled to himself knowingly and happily as he saw what it was.

A box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.


	3. The Warlock and The Timelord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin meets an old friend.

"And yes, Mr. Potter I am sure I can't bring a real dragon to my class to highlight the fact that they are, as you so eloquently put it 'wicked cool and I want to have one as a pet'." said Professor Dragoon The Great with an exasperated sigh.

"But Professor, I want a dragon!" whined James Potter ignoring Remus' mutterings asking him to shut up "And besides it would be awesome training for us! We can learn how to defend ourselves against a dragon! Sirius, mate, back me up!"

"I mean, yeah Professor. Why can't we at least see a real live dragon?" asked Sirius in excitement, doing his best pleading puppy eyes. "It could be like a field trip."

"It could be your last day on this magical green earth." replied Professor Dragoon The Great dryly "If you're not careful, the dragon will roast you alive."

"But we will be careful!" protested James Potter to which Professor Dragoon The Great snorted.

"Mr. Potter I'm not sure you understand what careful means."

"But -" began James but suddenly he was interrupted by a loud, wheezing and whirring noise of an engine. Merlin who was disguised as Professor Dragoon The Great turned around immediately to the source of the sound. He recognized that sound anywhere and anytime. The familiar sound that bought hope to him whenever he was lost and scared and lonely. The sound of hope to anyone, anywhere at anytime.

The sound of the TARDIS.

"What the bloody hell - " muttered Merlin shaking his head at the dematerializing TARDIS, looking at the wind swirling around it.

He looked to see all the students had got up and pointed their wands at this new threat that was arriving in their classroom. He heard panicked shouts and scared screams of his students but he was frozen in his spot as he watched the magic happen right before his eyes. 

"Professor, what is happening?" asked Lily Evans who had her wand out.

"Professor what should we do?" asked Remus, looking up to the old and tall man who was transfixed at the sight.

"Wands down everyone. It's not dangerous, I promise you." said Merlin calmly and gently, looking at the scared and excited faces of his students.

"Then what is it?" asked James and Sirius together, their eyes shining in anticipation and excitement.

"Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something blue." said Merlin smiling in excitement as he watched the blue Police box finally materialize.

The Police Box finally stood there silently after all wheezing and groaning, in it's unique blue glory. On the front of it was a sign and it read -

"Police Telephone. Free for Use of Public. Advice & Assistance Obtainable Immediately. Officer and Cars Respond To All Cars. Pull To Open." read out Peter Pettigrew loudly, in fascination and wonder.

"The Police? Aren't they like muggle aurors?" asked James

"Professor, how can the police be here? They can't be here. They can't see Hogwarts." said Remus his voice filled with disbelief.

Everyone started to chatter at the revelation and Professor Dragoon The Great raised his hand and everyone became silent "This is not a muggle device. And there are no muggles in it."

"How do you know?" asked Severus Snape accusingly.

Professor Dragoon The Great gave a sharp stare at Severus for his nasty tone and Severus glared back at him. Professor Dragoon The Great ignored Severus and said with a knowing and reminiscent smile "I've encountered this box before. So you have nothing to worry about."

Suddenly the door of the police box opened wide and out came a man, startling and shocking everyone. He was - well - there was only one way to really describe him. He was raggedy. He wore a light cream shirt, a red bowtie, and over it a brown tweed jacket with brown leather elbow patches, black pants which were held up by skinny red suspenders and black laceup boots. This peculiar young man with brown eyes and brown hair stumbled out of the TARDIS as he yelled out with his arms stretched out wide - 

"HA FINALLY MADE IT TO ANCIENT EGYPT!"

Then he went silent as he looked at the silent and shocked children with their jaws wide open in surprise as they stared at him "This isn't ancient Egypt."

"No it isn't Doctor." replied Merlin in an amused voice.

The Doctor turned his head to face the source of the familiar voice and as his recognition and relief flowed through his face "Merlin, it's you!!! I'd recognize those blue eyes anywhere!"

The Doctor lounged himself and hugged Merlin who groaned because he could feel his old man bones cracking under the Doctor's enthusiastic hug. But still he hugged the Doctor back in warm welcome and whispered into the Doctor's ear "Uh Doctor, I'm actually not Merlin here - I'm Dragoon - so - "

"I got the gist of it old friend." whispered back the Doctor and broke the hug and slapped Merlin's shoulder in a friendly manner as Merlin groaned again "How long has it being? Look at you, with a long beard and everything. I got to say, being old suits you."

"Thank you Doctor." said Merlin grinning at the Doctor, despite his screaming bones "It's been too long. Look at you, when did you get a new face?"

"Oh a few years ago. Do you like it?" asked the Doctor eagerly making funny faces at Merlin.

"You look like a complete idiot." laughed Merlin shaking his head at the Doctor.

They were interrupted by a cold voice "Professor The Great, do you know this man?"

"You're a Professor? Since when did you become a Professor?" asked the Doctor taken aback, looking at Merlin in disbelief.

Merlin ignored the Doctor and turned to Severus who was looking at him suspiciously "Yes I do, Mr. Snape. He's a very good friend of mine."

"I've just come to visit." said the Doctor nodding politely at Severus.

"You said you wanted to go to ancient Egypt." said a sassy voice and the Doctor turned to see a girl with bright red hair and green eyes and suddenly he froze as all the memories of laughter and adventure and friendship with his best friend hit him like a massive wave as he looked at the girl.

"Come along Pond?" the Doctor whispered brokenly.

"No, my name is Lily Evans." replied Lily feeling like she reminded the strange man in a bowtie about someone who he knew very well.

"Lily Evans. That's a lovely name." said the Doctor with a sad smile "You should keep it."

Lily smiled at the Doctor not knowing what to say and James took that moment to open his big mouth "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." replied the Doctor, his confidence returning and a huge smirk taking over his face.

"Doctor Who?" asked Remus puzzled and confused.

"Oh I love it when they ask that. Could ask me that again please?" asked the Doctor, jumping up and down like a child making Merlin roll his eyes.

"Doctor Who?" asked Remus again, lifting one of his eyebrows in question.

"Yes, exactly." said the Doctor with a huge smile "So Dragoon, you're a Professor now. When did you become a Professor?"

"A few years ago." answered Merlin as he smoothed his beard.

"Blimey, look at you being a Professor, settling down with a job and a desk and all." said the Doctor patting the desk "I've always wanted a job. And a desk. I'd be great at a job. I'd be fantastic at being a Professor. I would be Professor Fantastic!!!"

"You'd be horrible at it. You can't sit down for one minute straight and you are always in search for trouble." said Merlin amused as the Doctor sat down on Merlin's seat and put his legs on his desk , to the shock of the students.

"Ah that's where you are wrong. Trouble finds me." said the Doctor with a smirk as he took a file and rushed through some papers.

Merlin smiled at the Doctor as he flicked his wand and suddenly two cups of tea and a plate of jammy dodgers appeared. "Tuck in Doctor."

"Ah Merlin! Jammy Dodgers and Tea! You do know me." said the Doctor happily as he took a jammy dodger.

Then Merlin turned to the students who were still staring at the Doctor "Class dismissed."

"But Professor - "

"Thanks Professor The Great. We'll get going. Byee Doctor." said Sirius as he grabbed Remus and motioned for James and Peter to follow. All the students followed their lead and quickly left the classroom and soon the classroom was empty and silent except for the presence of the Warlock and the Timelord.

Merlin then turned towards the Doctor "So tell me Doctor, what have you been up to? Where are your companions? I usually get to meet them."

The Doctor looked at Merlin as if contemplating on whether telling him was the right thing to do "I left them behind."

"You did what?" asked Merlin choking on his tea.

"I left them back where they belong. When Amy and Rory - when they fly away with me in this TARDIS it's dangerous." said the Doctor as he sipped his tea "I realized that I don't want to be why they are dead and I definitely don't want to be standing over their gravestones."

"I understand." said Merlin nodding his head "But they are your friends Doctor. You can't just leave them after everything you have been through."

"And what's the alternative? Standing over their tombstones?" snapped the Doctor in frustration and then looked apologetic "I'm sorry - I just - It's - I miss them."

"It's okay." said Merlin quietly "You did the right thing, even if it was the hard thing to do."

"And you understand all about that don't you Merlin?"said the Doctor with a knowing smile "You understand what it's like to be immortal."

"It's hard." admitted Merlin "They say it gets easier with time but it doesn't. Time is ruthless."

"You're still waiting for him aren't you?" asked the Doctor softly, his eyes filled with understanding.

"I'll always wait for Arthur." replied Merlin his voice trembling with emotion and then he looked at the Doctor "Are you going to ask me to stop indulging in foolish fantasies?"

"Well, my experience is that, generally there is always hope." said the Doctor gently "Arthur would have been proud of you, Merlin."

Merlin scoffed and smiled wanly at the Doctor "So Doctor, are you seeing anyone lately? It's been way too long since you got a little bit action."

This time, it was Doctor who choked on his tea and he coughed as he spluttered "Actually - no. I mean yes. What I mean is that I'm married."

This was news to Merlin who dropped his tea cup on the floor "WHAT ???"

"Well, I'm a married man." said the Doctor proudly, adjusting his bowtie "Being married is cool."

"WHAT? WHEN? WHO ON EARTH WOULD MARRY YOU?" asked Merlin still in shock.

"Firstly, yes I'm married, when - well it's all a bit timey wimey wibbly wobbly and who married me?" said the Doctor with a secret smile "River Song. She's my wife."

"River Song? Who the hell is River Song?" asked Merlin confused and extremely surprised because the Doctor did not do commitment.

"Well she's an archaeologist." began Doctor and Merlin nodded in approval "And she was also a psychopath engineered to kill me."

"Excuse me?" asked Merlin, not sure whether he had heard the Doctor right. "She was supposed to kill you and you married her?"

"Well - she did kill me and not kill me - look it's really complicated for you to understand." said the Doctor flapping his hands about "River Song is the woman who married me."

"Wow. And you're the man who married a psychopath archaeologist." said Merlin stunned wishing he could meet this remarkable woman who had captured the Doctor's heart "Well, congratulations, my friend."

"Thank you." said the Doctor happily as he settled back into the chair.

"You always did like the dangerous ones." replied Merlin with a teasing smirk.

"Excuse me!" spluttered the Doctor "You're one to talk! What about your little affair with Captain Jack Harkness eh?"

"It was not an affair. It was more of a friends with benefits thing." said Merlin shrugging and the Doctor screwed his face up in disgust "Oh what about Marilyn Monroe eh?"

"That was an accident!" retorted the Doctor flushing pink "You were in love with Leonardo Da Vinci!"

"Honestly how many times do I have to say this? He was in love with me! Could you blame him?" asked Merlin laughing loudly "And what about Cleopatra? Oh and Queen Elizabeth the First, you naughty boy!!!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough." said the Doctor annoyed but there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

Merlin laughed loudly feeling better in days "It's good to see you again, Doctor."

"You too, Merlin." said the Doctor smiling fondly at Merlin "So how is life as a teacher?"

"It's nice." said Merlin and the Doctor snorted. Merlin glared at the Doctor and continued "It's just that being around them, I'm surrounded by childlike innocence and happiness. Something I haven't encountered often in my long life so I strive to protect it for as long as I can. They're good kids, most of them, anyway."

"Ah then I take it there are troublemakers in your class?" asked the Doctor with a smirk.

The Doctor chuckled as Merlin let out a small groan"James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They love making mischief and mischief loves them! Honestly, they are the best bunch of pranksters I've seen." Merlin paused for a moment and then smiled "But I secretly I admire their loyalty and friendship towards each other. They all have their hearts in the right place."

"Sounds like my kind of people. I would love to travel with them." said the Doctor with a grin.

"Maybe when they are older." supplied Merlin.

"When they are older." said the Doctor with a nod "Until then, you take good care of them?"

"Always." 

The Doctor stood up and brushed the crumbs off his tweed jacket "It's been so good seeing you again Merlin but time and space is calling out to me."

"I know. The mad man in a blue box. Always running off to see new wonders and saving every world." said Merlin with a nostalgic smile.

"You could come with me." offered the Doctor looking at Merlin.

"No." said Merlin shaking his head and then looked towards the empty desks "Who will take care of them?"

"The offer always stands if you change your mind." said the Doctor with a smile and as he opened the TARDIS door and stepped in, Merlin's voice stopped him.

"Do you know why I regret his death the most Doctor?" asked Merlin making the Timelord stop and look at him from behind the TARDIS door.

The Doctor stayed silent and Merlin spoke "It's because I didn't tell him. I didn't tell Arthur that I love him. I didn't tell him soon enough about my magic. I watched the man I love die in my arms knowing that I would never get the chance to tell him how I truly feel about him and knowing that if I had revealed my magic to him earlier - maybe things would have been different. I regret it every single day. Don't be like me Doctor."


	4. Wolf Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin in disguise as Professor Dragoon The Great and this time he teaches his students about werewolves.

It all starts in Merlin's or rather Professor Dragoon The Great's Defense Against Dark Arts Class.

Merlin who is in disguise as Professor Dragoon The Great was busy explaining to his class about a certain fascinating magical creature - 

"Werewolves!" said Professor Dragoon The Great clapping his hands together in excitement and looking at his students "Today we will be studying about werewolves."

As soon as he said those words, the some students of the class uttered shrill screams, some students gasped in shock, some students started buzzing with excitement and some students wore expressions of disgust and nastiness. But Merlin noticed that four people stood apart from the general reaction of the class. Merlin saw that Remus Lupin had fallen back into his seat, as if trying to remain invisible during this lesson, James Potter had already opened the chapter on 'werewolves' in his textbook, Sirius Black was wearing a calm and bored expression and Peter looked nervous as if he was hiding a huge secret. Merlin secretly smiled to himself, at the reactions of the four boys knowingly, glad that at least a few students had different reactions to such a subject. 

Merlin then glared at the class as he said loudly "Silence!"

All the scared whispers, shocked gasps and the nasty comments ceased at Professor Dragoon The Great's command and the Professor continued "Now, that's better. Today, we will be studying about a fascinating magical creature known as a werewolf. Now who here, can define a werewolf?"

Professor Dragoon The Great eyed the four mischief making boys but they remained silent as Kingsley Shacklebolt put his hand up "A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope, is a human being who upon the completion of full moon cycle, becomes a fearsome and deadly wolf."

"Very good Mr. Shacklebolt. Five points to Gryffindor." said Professor Dragoon The Great nodding in approval and then smiled at them "But there was one thing wrong in Mr. Shacklebolt's answer. Does anyone care to point it out?"

After the silence of a heartbeat, a careless voice drawled out "They don't become a wolf. They nearly become a wolf but not fully wolf. They can transform back and become human."

Professor Dragoon The Great turned to see Sirius Black who had answered and gave him a pleased smile "Very good, Sirius. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Sirius' lips broke into a small smile and Professor Dragoon The Great continued "Being a werewolf is a condition known as lycanthropy. Lycanthropy is also known as werewolfry. Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood. So therefore, when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will thus become werewolves themselves. But this is an exception regarding most Muggles who will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack. Note that I said 'most muggles'. Some muggles do survive and become werewolves themselves. I should know, I've met a few."

The whole class started buzzing in curiosity and Marlene McKinnon's curiosity got the better of her "Really? What are they like?"

"Good hearted and strong. They protect and guide those that are like them." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a smile and from the corner of his eye he saw Remus straighten up with interest.

"Really?" laughed Fabian Prewett, a Gryffindor student "Didn't they try to bite you and hurt you?"

"No, Mr. Prewett. In fact, it is because of them I am standing here right now. They saved my life from a deadly danger." said Professor Dragoon The Great in a steely and dangerous voice that made Fabian Prewett shut up immediately. Professor Dragoon The Great also noticed Remus, James, Sirius and Peter exchanging looks between them.

"Werewolves appear in the form of a wolf but there are distinctions between them and a regular wolf." began Professor Dragoon The Great, with another dangerous stare at Fabian Prewett who was whispering something to his partner "A werewolf cannot choose whether or not to transform and will no longer remember who they are once they have transformed. But despite this, they are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation, once they are back into their human form. The monthly transformation of a werewolf is said to be extremely painful. But although, unfortunately, there has been no cure found for lycanthropy yet, there are ways to lessen the pain of the monthly transformation of being a werewolf. Does anyone know what these methods are?"

Professor Dragoon The Great nodded at Lily Evans as she raised her hand and started speaking "The Wolfsbane Potion. The Wolfsbane Potion invented by Damocles allows the werewolf to keep their human mind during the transformation. And also, a mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will seal the wound and allow the victim to live on as a werewolf."

Professor Dragoon The Great ignored James Potter's muttering of 'I'm in love.' as he smiled approvingly at the red haired brilliant witch "Excellent, Miss Evans. Ten points to Gryffindor."

"As Miss Evans, so correctly stated, some of the worst effects can be mitigated by the Wolfsbane Potion, which allows the werewolf to keep his or her human mind while transformed and therefore freeing him or her from the worry of harming other humans or themselves. It's a very difficult potion to make and has very complicated ingredients - I'm not your Potions Master, so I won't go further into that." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a mischievous wink which made all the students laugh.

"But there is also another way to make the experience of the transformation more bearable." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a secretive smile and he saw James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew lean forward with interest.

"You see, werewolves only pose a danger to humans. Therefore companionship with animals whilst transformed can be a way of making the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no one to harm and will be less willing to harm themselves." said Professor Dragoon The Great as he looked at the awed students.

"So if the werewolves are with animals, they won't hurt anyone?" asked James Potter in unbridled interest.

"That's correct Mr. Potter." nodded Professor Dragoon The Great at James.

"Professor, I don't understand. So are you saying if humans take the animal form with a werewolf, the werewolf won't hurt them?" asked Severus Snape in disbelief "Like Animagi?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." said Professor Dragoon The Great and from the corner of his eye he saw James and Sirius look at each other with knowing and brilliant smiles, Remus shaking his head at the both of them and Peter still looking confused.

"While in his or her wolfish form, the werewolf loses entirely its human sense of right or wrong but they don't suffer a permanent loss of moral sense." continued Professor Dragoon The Great ignoring the shocked faces of his students "While human, a werewolf maybe good and kind or dangerous and horrible. The choice is theirs."

Professor Dragoon The Great saw Sirius put his arm around a stiff Remus Lupin and whisper a few words into his ear, which seemed to calm and relax Remus. Professor Dragoon The Great smiled knowingly as he looked at them and then continued his lesson "There is a certain prejudice and discrimination surrounding werewolves because they are regarded with fear and disgust by the wizarding society. Personally, I think -"

"Kill those werewolves!" booed someone from the back of the class loudly.

"Those disgusting half breeds shouldn't be anywhere near us!" yelled Severus Snape and a few of his friends applauded.

"Down with those half breeds!!! They should be strung up!!!" yelled a Ravenclaw and she was greeted by applause and whistles.

"ENOUGH!!!" roared someone and the whole class went silent as a grave.

Professor Dragoon The Great knew that it wasn't him who had yelled and he turned and saw Sirius standing up and facing the class, his usually calm and bored facade, angry and outraged "If you prejudiced fuckers could stop your close-minded insults, I would like to go back to what Professor The Great was saying and finish the class as soon as possible."

The whole class' jaws dropped and Professor Dragoon The Great looked at Sirius proudly "Thank you Sirius. Yes, I would like you lot to shut your mouths when I am speaking. Don't speak unless you are asked to. Is that understood?"

The class nodded dumbly, Sirius sat down still breathing heavily and Professor Dragoon The Great began speaking, his voice calm yet full of strength and determination "I do not tolerate such discriminatory behavior in my class. And therefore as a punishment and as homework, you all will write me a twenty seven paged essay on werewolves, the treatment given to them, the laws regarding them, their reputation and you will write this - " Professor Dragoon The Great paused as he looked at his shocked and outraged class "You will write this from the perspective of a werewolf."

"WHAT?" yelled Severus Snape in shock "Professor The Great, you've got to be joking -"

"Mr. Snape, does this face look like it's joking?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great with a hard and severe expression and Severus shut up immediately. "And I want you to reference and look at these books when you are writing your essay." Professor Dragoon The Great paused and began to name the books "Hairy Snout Human Heart, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble, Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don't Deserve To Live by Emerett Picardy and my personal favorite Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander." 

Professor Dragoon The Great then saw that his students were just staring at him in shock without doing anything and he snapped at them making them jump "What are you idiots doing? Get a quill and write this down! Do you think you can remember all of this?"

"And remember, it's very important, that you should write this essay from the perspective of a werewolf. You're looking at all this material and Ministry Legislation from the perspective of a werewolf. You're a werewolf. As a werewolf what do you think about it? What do you feel? I want good answers. No, I want great answers, not half hearted, insensitive and weak answers." said Professor Dragoon The Great walking through the class as the students scribbled frantically with their quills on the scrolls "And then I want your conclusions as a werewolf. Your conclusion as a werewolf, on whether the wizarding world is fair or unfair to the werewolves."

Mulciber put his hand up "Professor, don't you think twenty seven pages is just too much? I mean - "

"Too much? Too much? Why, oh your prejudice is too much!" roared Professor Dragoon the Great making Mucliber jump up from his chair in fright and making Sirius, Remus, James and Peter bark in laughter "If anyone here can figure out why I have given you twenty seven pages, you will receive a special prize from me."

"Now that's the first part of your punishment." said Professor Dragoon The Great and the class groaned.

"How many parts are there to it?" asked James ruffling his hair.

"Four. The second part is summarizing all of your essay into a five minute speech." said Professor Dragoon The Great grinning evilly as the students groaned again "The third part is interesting."

"You will be the Ministry, but you will propose new legislature that is beneficial for the werewolves. Each legislature has to be unique and advantageous to the werewolf, so no copying from your friends." said Professor Dragoon The Great knowing that after he marked it, he will send it to the Ministry of Magic.

"I assume there is a fourth part Professor?" asked Remus Lupin but he looked amused.

"Of course my boy! You will get into groups of four and do a presentation on any aspect of being a werewolf, from a werewolf's perspective." said Professor Dragoon The Great and then pinched his nose "I assume you four troublemakers will be in one group?"

"Aye, aye, Sir!" said James merrily saluting Professor Dragoon The Great making everyone chuckle.

"Wonderful. Now I need the essay by the end of this week, the speech by next week, the legislation by the week after next week and the presentation after that." said Professor Dragoon The Great to all the confused students who were scribbling everything he was saying. "Now, class dismissed!"

The students of the class quickly collected their scrolls, quills, ink and books and ran as fast as they could out of class before their Professor could give them more work. Professor Dragoon The Great chuckled to himself, because at times like this he really did love being a teacher. As he started to clean up his desk he was interrupted by a cocky and confident voice.

"Professor The Great, hey there! You're looking good!"

"What do you want Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great looking up to see James Potter and Sirius Black. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew seemed to have disappeared from the class and that was strange because normally all four of them would hang out together.

"Why do you assume I want anything?" asked James innocently and got elbowed in his ribs by Sirius and got a pointed stare by Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Well, actually I - well we - that's to say me and Sirius -" began James nervously but Professor Dragoon The Great corrected him.

"'It's 'Sirius and I', Mr. Potter." said Professor Dragoon The Great shaking his head "Your grammar gets worse every day."

"Sorry. Well Sirius and I - we were fascinated by your lesson today." said James Potter emphasizing on the corrected grammar.

"Indeed?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great his lips slightly twitching.

"Yeah. Well I mean werewolves are super cool. I mean - dangerously cool." said James and Sirius just facepalmed himself.

"Get to the point, Mr. Potter. We don't have all day." said Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Yeah, well - actually we were fascinated by the part of the lesson where you said that if humans become animals werewolves won't harm themselves or others." said James straightforwardly yet casually.

"Yes, that's true." nodded Professor Dragoon The Great eyeing James and Sirius suspiciously.

"Well, is it like animagus? Like what you can become?" asked James trying to clarify his doubts.

"Yes. If humans take animagus forms around a werewolf, the experience of the transformation becomes more bearable for the werewolf." informed Professor Dragoon The Great putting some papers in order.

James and Sirius exchanged looks and then Sirius asked the question that Merlin had been waiting for "Professor The Great, how do you become an animagus?"

"Hypothetically, of course." added James and Sirius nodded. 

Professor Dragoon The Great looked at Sirius and then James with twinkling eyes "This is a question for third years to be asking at their Transfiguration class. Perhaps, it is a question that can be answered better by your Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall."

"NOOOO!!!" yelled Sirius and James and then Professor Dragoon The Great looked at James and Sirius with a knowing yet curious look.

"What are you planning boys?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great eyeing James and Sirius suspiciously, although he had an idea as to what they were planning.

"Nothing." said Sirius smoothly before James could open his mouth "This is just a hypothetical scenario, Professor. And honestly we thought that we'd ask you because you're fun and cool and you know everything about everything. And plus, you're an animagus."

"So is Professor McGonagall. She's more enlightened on the subject than I am." said Professor Dragoon The Great amused at the boys' discomfort.

"Well, we just thought you would help us out. You know with understanding a hypothetical scenario." said Sirius smoothly and calmly and for a moment Merlin remembers the times when Arthur and him lied to Uther to go on secret quests.

He smiled to himself nostalgically and looked at Sirius "I hope you know that the process of becoming an animagus is long and hard and it has the potential to backfire and go horribly wrong. It takes skill, practice, hard work and patience for wizards and witches to become animagi."

James and Sirius nodded together at Professor Dragoon The Great's words and Professor Dragoon The Great continued "But Mr. Potter, Sirius, I cannot tell you how you can become an animagi, even if it is for a hypothetical scenario."

Merlin saw right through them. James and Sirius might think of themselves as master liars but Merlin had lives for ages and ages and he knew a lie when he saw it. Merlin knew that James and Sirius wanted to become animagi themselves and he knew the reason why. Merlin knew that the process of becoming animagi will put the lives of James and Sirius in danger. Merlin knew that Sirius and James were putting their lives at risk by entertaining the very idea of becoming animagi. But Merlin knew why exactly these two idiots were asking him this question. It wasn't a hypothetical scenario. Although James and Sirius thought that their Professor didn't know everything, he did know everything about why James and Sirius wanted to know how exactly to become animagi. And that warmed his heart. The reason why James and Sirius wanted to become animagus wasn't to create mischief or trouble, it was for something greater. And perhaps he should stop their foolishness before they put themselves in danger. But Merlin himself had seen the effect the boys had on a particular shy, tired and scarred boy. The boys brought new energy and life and hope into him, something Merlin recognized and related to as important for someone who thought he was a monster. Maybe, they could have the same effect - perhaps even greater effect on this boy through their animagus forms? 

Professor Dragoon The Great looked at the two boys in front of him seriously "You must listen and understand what I am saying. The procedure of being an animagus is dangerous. Very dangerous. It can result in disaster, meaning that you can become permanent half human, half animal mutations. If this is for a prank, stop thinking about it. Knowing you both, I know this isn't for a hypothetical scenario." James and Sirius opened their mouths to protest but Professor Dragoon The Great continued "So what is this risk really for?"

James and Sirius remained silent for a few moments and then looked at each other communicating with each other with their secret eye language and then turned towards Professor Dragoon The Great and said together "For a friend."'

Professor Dragoon The Great's theories were confirmed and he nodded "Well - it's dangerous and I, as a Professor cannot advise students on this particular subject."

"Oh." said James Potter looking crestfallen.

Sirius Black looked at him, disappointed and shook his head "Fine."

But although Professor Dragoon The Great couldn't help them, Merlin would not let them go through this alone. No, he wanted to help them through this journey, to make sure they were safe and sound.

"But I also can't tell that in the restricted section of the library there are a few books on how to become an animagus. I'm also not telling you the names of few of those books are 'Transforming Into Your True Animagus', 'Animagus Transformation Procedure', 'Awesome Animagus'." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a smirk as he saw James Potter jaw drop and Sirius quickly take a scroll and scribble everything down "I also don't know that Filch will not be patrolling the library corridors especially around 10- 12 in the night."

Professor Dragoon The Great shrugged casually "You must understand that I'm not allowed to disclose such information to you."

James and Sirius nodded and Sirius smiled knowingly at him "We totally understand Professor."

"By the way, this animagus research that you are conducting - I am assuming that it is entirely hypothetical?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great solemnly but there was an amused and knowing twinkle in his cerulean blue eyes.

"Of course." nodded James solemnly.

"Entirely." said Sirius his lips slightly twitching.

"Right. Wasn't here. Didn't see you. And couldn't have stopped you." said Professor Dragoon The Great briskly as he walked away "Good day gentlemen!"


	5. Wolf Wolf

Merlin knew about James Potter's, Sirius Black's and Peter Pettigrew's mission to help Remus Lupin. 

He knew about their mission to turn into animagus in order to accompany their best friend on his monthly night outs and make his pain more bearable.

He knew about this and made a silent promise that these four boys would not have to do this alone.

Merlin wanted to make sure that they would have no problems with their transformations. Merlin wanted to make sure that they collected as much knowledge as possible on the topic of being animagus. Merlin wanted to make sure that James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew would have safe transformations.

He didn't have to do this but these four reckless yet kind hearted boys had slowly and gradually taken a special place in his heart and he would not let them get hurt. 

Merlin would be there for them, even if the four troublemakers did not know it.

So it was no surprise to Merlin, that James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew found extra and advanced reading material on how to become animagi stocked in the library. Detailed ingredient lists found their way into the four boys bags and the ingredients which were rare to get appeared inside the boy's dormitories or inside their luggage under their beds. Sometimes Merlin would incorporate certain tips and information about animagi that the boys would find useful into his lessons. He would distract Filch and his bloody cat or pretend to flirt with Madam Pince whenever the boys were inside the library pouring over their notes and books about animagi. And whenever James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black would meet up to perform and practice one of the steps, he would watch them invisibly hidden or in disguise as a merlin bird, performing subtle healing spells on them when they got hurt, putting safety charms on each and every one of them whenever they would practice and distracting them whenever one of them was going to do something stupid and dangerous.

Merlin admired how the boys never gave up no matter how hard and ridiculous the procedure was. He laughs every time he remembers when the three boys had to hold a mandrake leaf in their mouth for an entire month and how it had resulted in chaos of the castle. One fine day, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had marched into the DADA class with an exasperated looking Remus Lupin and they had sat down. Usually the four boys would be the life and energy of the class, making jokes and snarky remarks that would liven up the entire lesson but that day, they were unusually silent. Merlin had liked it in the beginning, the silence was a nice change but when Merlin had asked Sirius a question and Sirius had stared back at Merlin stubbornly yet pleadingly, Merlin knew something was up. When Merlin asked the four boys what was wrong with them, Remus had answered on behalf of them that they were taking a vow of silence because they had a new religion. Although Merlin's eyebrows had raised in question, he asked no more of them and later learned that the Remus had given different and ridiculous excuses on behalf of the three boys. Some such excuses were 'we're playing a silent game and we're in it to win it' and 'we're being silent because we want you to value and understand how much our presence is needed for this school to survive'. It was after hearing these excuses, Merlin understood that they were performing a step of the procedure of becoming an animagi and during that period of silence, he made sure with the support of Remus and Lily to tease the three boys as much as possible.

Merlin had been in disguise as a robin as he watched through the window of the Gryffindor dormitory James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew jump up and down in excitement as they told Remus their good news of becoming an animagus. He saw Remus' face go pale as he started protesting against their idea, claiming it was mad and foolish and illegal and he wasn't worth that trouble. He watched the three boys comfort Remus and assure him that they are always going to be there for him and that they would go through anything for him. Merlin watched as Remus smiled and nodded at the James, Sirius and Peter who exchanged excited looks with each other and then in a few minutes of concentration transformed into a glorious stag, a shaggy black dog and a small rat. Merlin smiled to himself as Remus had stood up and gasped in shock as the stag, dog and the rat ran around him in excitement. Merlin had seen how Remus' eyes were filled with tears as he started smiling and then laughing and petting the animal forms of his friends calling them 'crazy idiots'. Merlin had then burst into a happy song because he was proud of James, Sirius and Peter for their hard work and patience and he was happy that Remus has such amazing friends who were crazy enough to do such a thing for him. Also he was relieved that the procedure didn't backfire and turn James, Sirius and Peter into horrible mutations of half animal and half human.

Yesterday was the full moon and Merlin knew that James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had sneaked out of Hogwarts to accompany their friend and help him bear his pain. So it was rather surprising when James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin staggered into class disheveled and sleepy but wearing loopy grins.

"Good Morning Messrs. Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin." greeted Merlin cheerfully as the four boys scrambled into their chairs "How lovely of you to join us - half an hour late."

"Sorry Professor." said Peter tiredly "We overslept and - "

"Evidently. Five points from each of you." said Merlin with a firm nod "I hope that teaches you a lesson as to not to be late to my class again."

They nodded, too tired to protest and argue with their Professor. Although Merlin knew why exactly they were late, he had to act like a Professor in order to keep up appearances and make sure that nobody would get suspicious. He didn't take pleasure in it, if it was up to him he would have awarded the House Cup to the four of them but he had to do it , protect the four boys that he cared about.

Merlin heard a snort of laughter coming from Lily and Severus but ignored it and continued on with the lesson. Merlin walked around the classroom teaching about counterjinxes when he finally was interrupted by a familiar voice filled with glee "Professor The Great, Potter and his idiots have fallen asleep!"

Merlin turned to see Severus Snape smiling with glee, something he hadn't seen the boy do in years. He looked at the desks in the middle to see James drooling over the parchment, Sirius sleeping on a sleeping Remus' shoulder and Peter snoring lightly. He smiled at the sight of the four reckless and loud miscreants sleeping calmly and peacefully. But as the Professor, he had to wake them up no matter how much they deserved some rest.

Merlin rapped on their desk and snapped loudly "Wake up boys! Nap time is over!"

James, Peter, Sirius and Remus woke up startled and looking around sleepily to see a looming and rather amused looking Professor Dragoon The Great standing in front of them.

"Oh it's you." said Sirius with a happy smile and then closed his eyes and settled into Remus' shoulder.

"Yes it's me! Wake up Sirius!" said Merlin in a loud voice which made Sirius groan and open his eyes blearily.

"Whazza do ya want?" asked James yawning loudly. "I vas havin dreems."

"I want your utmost attention to my lesson." said Merlin in disguise as Professor Dragoon The Great with utmost solemnity.

"We'll do it tomorrow." sighed Peter sleepily as he nuzzled the desk.

"Honestly, you all are so lazy." began Lily Evans indignantly as she glared at the four sleepy eyed boys "You're disturbing the class!"

Merlin hears James mutter something like 'Fuck off Evans' under his breath but he isn't sure whether he heard it right. Merlin is about to ask Lily to quieten down when another gleeful yet angry voice joins in.

"You all are just so arrogant and selfish." sneered Severus Snape with an angry glare "Just pretending to be sleepy so you can bunk off! This is just one of your stupid pranks - "

"That's enough Mr. Snape, Miss Evans!" snapped Merlin making Severus and Lily jump up in alarm and making James, Sirius, Remus and Peter open their eyes up in interest and attention. Merlin knew he couldn't disclose the reason as to why the four boys were late to class and sleeping in his lesson but he could not let Lily Evans and Severus Snape get away with calling them selfish, arrogant and lazy when the four boys had worked so hard all these years for their best friend and spent an entire night caring for their werewolf friend Remus Lupin who thought that he was a monster. Merlin could excuse James, Sirius, Remus and Peter just this once. 

"I will not have you both behaving like childish idiotic toddlers. Is that clear?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great from Lily and Severus who nodded dumbly at him.

"Wonderful. Since the lesson is finished, class dismissed." said Merlin clapping his hands together and waving for the students to get out.

The students quickly left his class in haste to get to the next lesson and the class soon remained empty with the exception of four boys still standing there, exchanging nervous yet encouraging looks with each other.

"Is there a reason that you boys are still here and not at your Charms lesson?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great looking at the four boys who were shuffling their feet.

"Well - we - no not really." squeaked Peter nervously.

Sirius rolled his eyes "We know what you did, Professor The Great."

"What did I do?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great innocently.

"All of the books, the ingredients, the quick healing spells and safety charms - they couldn't be there by coincidence." said James with a knowing smile.

"You helped us with our animagi transformations. You were there with us, every step of the way." said Peter with a small smile, his nervousness slightly faded "And you didn't rat us out."

The boys dissolved into a fit of chuckles at the last sentence and Merlin smiled because he got the pun. Remus was the first to stop laughing and he looked at Professor Dragoon The Great gratefully as he handed his Professor something "This is for you. From all of us. As a thank you gift."

Merlin took this box from Remus to see it was a large box of Honeydukes candy and he smiled feeling tears prick his eyes and a huge lump of emotion restrict his throat and he didn't know what else to say except "Well, thank you, boys. I take it you had an eventful night?"

Merlin took a good look at Remus. He was scarred but slightly less so, he was exhausted but there was a happy grin plastered on his face that Merlin had not seen before, and the weight of the monstrous secret that weighed down on his shoulders and stiffened the boy had lessened because he looked more relaxed than usual. He didn't have the sad and haunted look in his eyes when he came into class after a very painful full moon, in fact he had a grateful expression on his scarred face that couldn't believe that his three best friends were willing to take on animal form to accompany him in his worst and monstrous time. 

"Very eventful." nodded James with a slight smirk. "We thank you dearly for helping us Professor."

"Yeah Professor, you're our home dog!" said Sirius with a bright grin and James and Sirius highfived each other.

"Honestly, Mr. Lupin, your friends are idiots." said Professor Dragoon The Great trying his best not to laugh at their puns.

Remus Lupin nodded solemnly maintaining eye contact with the Professor "I'm aware." 

And that was the last straw for all of them as they all burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of it all. Here Merlin was standing with a werewolf, and three brilliant students who could take the form of a stag, a dog and a rat and he was laughing with them at the jokes these boys were making about their animal form. As Merlin laughed, he remembers Gaius and Lancelot, two brilliant and brave men who knew about the secret he tried so hard to hide, who knew about his magic and stood by him, advised him in times of trouble, made him laugh and smile, and protected Merlin from being executed for magic. Merlin remembers the feeling of being able to be himself around them, the relief and the happiness of being exactly who he was and not being judged but rather admired and encouraged and most importantly loved by Gaius and Lancelot. He sees that kind of unconditional acceptance and love given by James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew to Remus Lupin and in that moment he knows that Remus Lupin will never be alone again.

They all stopped laughing and suddenly Professor Dragoon The Great realized something "You are late to Charms with Professor Flitwick! Run, run, run!"

"Oh yeah. Perhaps we should skip it and - " began Sirius suggestively but then stopped when he saw Professor Dragoon The Great's pointed stare "Or we could actually go to class."

"Yeah. Let's go. I want to see Lily. Did you see how in love with me she was?" asked James eagerly but Peter,Remus, Sirius and Professor Dragoon The Great snorted at that.

"She called you lazy." said Remus, his eyebrows raised "A girl in love definitely does that."

"C'mon mate. Let's go." said Peter dragging away James "See you Professor."

"Bye Professor!!!" yelled James as he laughed merrily.

Remus whispered something to Sirius and Sirius looked at Remus and nodded understandingly and then waved goodbye to his Professor "You're the greatest, Professor The Great."

The three boys had left the class leaving Remus and Professor Dragoon The Great in it. Remus was nervously shuffling his feet and Merlin wondered whether Remus was alright and Merlin began in concern "Mr Lupin - Remus are you - "

But he could not continue what he was about to say because the thin and tall boy had hugged him and was holding on to him for dear life and Merlin swore he could hear sniffling. 

"Thank you." sniffed Remus as he hugged Professor Dragoon The Great "Thank you. I don't feel much of a monster now."

Merlin's heart melted as he hugged back the boy "You were never a monster in the first place, Remus."

Remus broke the hug and Merlin saw him smiling gratefully through his happy tears and then he whispered again "Thank you so much."


	6. Sectumsempra!!!

Merlin disguised as Professor Dragoon The Great was having a nice, quiet and cosy time in his office, reading a book and sipping chamomile tea by the firelight when Filch burst into his office in haste and shock. 

Merlin resisted the temptation to turn the man into a snail and trample him but instead turned to Filch and gave him one of his infamous icy looks "Ever heard of knocking Mr. Filch?"

"Sorry - beg ye - pardon - sir - very sorry -" wheezed Filch trying to catch his breath. Merlin rolled his eyes at Filch, extremely annoyed wondering whether this was how Arthur felt when he burst into his chambers without any knocking. Filch looked at Merlin earnestly and began "Sir, Professor Dragoon - I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important - and you are the defense teacher and -"

"Oh for the love of Camelot, Mr. Filch get to the point!" snapped Merlin sharply, very much annoyed that his peace and quiet had been disturbed by a babbling buffoon.

"Professor Dragoon sir, there is a huge fight going on in the courtyard - between five gryffindor students and a slytherin student. And no one can stop it!" said Filch quickly and hopefully, hoping that this piece of information would gain him the favor of the infamous Professor "They about to use spells and curses - can't stop it!"

Merlin had an idea who four of these students might be "Oh dear. Thank you Filch. As the Head of the House of Slytherin, I needed to know this."

Professor Dragoon The Great marched out of his office with Filch at his heel, his dark rich purple robes billowing as he walked through the corridors quickly and swiftly. He was not just the Head of Slytherin House anymore. Oh no, recently his friend Albus Wulfric Percival Dumbledore had a bright idea of promoting him as the Disciplinary Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Merlin had nearly spat out his wine when Dumbledore had announced his new position at dinner in front of all the teachers and the bright eyed students. Merlin wondered whether Dumbledore was in possession of all his senses when he thought of giving such a position to Merlin. Merlin was the last person who would be suitable for such a job. He didn't do discipline. For Salazar's sake, he had allowed and aided four trouble making boys to become animagi. He was not the poster perfect professional for discipline and he had pleaded with Dumbledore to give his position to Minerva McGonagall but Dumbledore had remained firm and immovable. Merlin suspected that his friend was enjoying his pain, and Merlin was planning an elaborate revenge prank on Dumbledore to get his vengeance on him.

As he approached the courtyard, he saw a crowd of students gathered around and cheering and booing at the scenario that was unfolding. Surrounded by the crowd were a messy dark haired boy with glasses playing carelessly with the snitch, an aristocratic yet rebellious young boy smoking a cigarette, a tall and serious boy with shaggy robes holding a pile of books and wearing a frown, and a blonde haired chubby boy who was laughing cheerfully. They were none other than James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew and they were facing an angry and fierce Gryffindor Girl and a sneering Slytherin boy who were none other than Lily Evans and Severus Snape. 

He made sure to stand behind one of the pillars in the courtyard and watch the scene unfold to get an understanding of what is going on.

"Buzz off, Potter! Do you think just because you're some famous potion maker's son and Quidditch hero you can get to have whatever you want?" asked Lily glaring angrily at James who smiled at her relaxed and calm.

"No of course not." said James shaking his head as he smiled charmingly at Lily "It's because I am handsome, smart, brave, charming, talented, prankster extraordinaire - oh and did I mention hot as hell?"

Merlin groaned internally, because James Potter reminded him so much of an arrogant toad he knew and he heard Severus Snape swear "Son of a -"

"Ah, ah, ah, you really don't want to do that. We're in the presence of children." said Remus pleasantly cutting across Severus' colorful use of language.

"I won't go out with you Potter." said Lily Evans gritting her teeth "Never in a million years, you big fat bully."

"Ah well, I hope you'll change your mind Evans." replied James pleasantly as if he hadn't been hurt by the words of his only love.

"Leave her alone." said Severus Snape threateningly.

"Ah Snivellus!" said Sirius in great delight as if he had suddenly found a prey to pounce upon "Didn't see you there you great ugly brute."

"Leave him alone, Black!" snapped Lily angrily but both Sirius and Severus ignored her.

"Oh go to hell Black! I think that you're one to talk." sneered Severus with a mocking laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Remus protectively before Sirius could say anything.

"Oh don't act dumb Remus, you and your precious Sirius are both cocksucking faggots poncing around!" announced Severus Snape loudly and that revelation was greeted with shocked gasps and booing laughter. Merlin felt his heart pound loudly as he looked over at Sirius and Remus who looked at each other, scared and nervous. Merlin knew they both had feelings for each other but neither one of them had acted on it yet. Merlin was hoping through time, Sirius and Remus would come to acknowledge their feelings for each other and become something more than friends but bloody Snivellus Snape had ruined it all. Severus Snape had taken from them their opportunity of coming out, the way they wanted to. Remus and Sirius were the ones who were supposed to decide where, when and who to they wanted to come out too. And Severus Snape had taken that away from them. And Merlin felt a surge of sadness and protectiveness for Remus and Sirius and anger and dislike for Severus Snape.

"Shut up Snivellus!" said James and Peter protectively, glaring angrily at Severus Snape.

But Severus Snape seemed to enjoy what he was doing as he continued "Why do you think I'm afraid of you Potter? You and your little gang strutting around Hogwarts like you own it? You think you can get away with anything because you, Black, Lupin, you three are fucking privileged!" 

That was the last straw for James Potter as he yelled "Shut the fuck up Snivellus!" and launched onto Snape and punched him hard in the nose two times before Peter pulled him back from the fight. Merlin decided that it was time to make his appearance and as he began to walk towards where the boys were he saw Severus Snape pulling out a wand and pointing it at James Potter and before Merlin could do anything, Severus Snape had yelled "Sectumsempra!"

But the spell never reached James Potter because Sirius Black had jumped in front of his brother without a moment's thought with the intention of protecting him and the spell hit right square on his chest and knocked him to the floor. Sirius Black immediately started bleeding, blood started pouring out from his chest like a waterfall and Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter were immediately at Sirius' side, panicking trying to stop the bleeding. Lily Evans had gone pale and Severus Snape was snickering as the crowd gasped in horror and some started to laugh in amusement. 

Merlin swore his heart stopped beating when he saw Sirius laying on the floor bleeding. Something inside him froze and then sparked, a feeling he had not felt since Arthur's death lit inside him consuming him. 

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Professor Dragoon The Great bellowed brandishing his wand and everyone parted in fear. "OUT OF THE WAY, I SAID!!!"

He didn't know how he made it but Merlin was at Sirius' side and he tore open Sirius' blue school robes and then his white shirt to examine the wounds. As he looked at the wounds, he gasped involuntarily at the damage that was done to Sirius' chest by Severus' spell. It wasn't a spell, it was a curse. The wounds on his chest were deep and they looked like angry slashes from an invisible sword. This was not magic, this was dark and horrible magic and he could not imagine where Severus Snape had come across this kind of disgusting, revolting, dark magic.

But right now, he had more important things to deal with than thinking about Severus Snape. He had to save -

"Sirius!" choked James patting Sirius' cheek because Sirius was moaning in pain and his eyes were closed "You can't - you're gonna be fine mate!"

"Professor, please. Do something. Save him!" pleaded Remus Lupin who was trembling while holding Sirius hand and had gone pale white in shock.

Merlin was filled with fear of losing Sirius too because the boy had become very near and dear to his heart. But he had lost so many that he loved, he was not going to let another one join his club of regrets. Merlin was going to save Sirius Black one way or another. 

Merlin took a deep breath and pointed his wand at Sirius' chest as he began to utter a song-like incantation. "Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur,Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur."

Merlin muttered the songlike incantation as he traced his wands over Sirius' wounds over and over again. The fast flow of blood seemed to ease and blood that was pouring quickly out of Sirius' body started to seep back into his body. Merlin repeated the same incantation again and this time as the blood went inside Sirius' body, the deep slashes inflicted by Severus' dark magic started healing slowly and gradually. The deep slashes turned into wounds and the wounds seemed to be knitting. Merlin repeated the incantation for the final time, cleaning up the residue of Sirius' blood. He then looked up to see James, Remus and Peter who was soaked in Sirius' blood looking at their friend in tears and then at him in awe and gratitude.

Merlin looked at Sirius Black who was lying on the ground quietly, his face unusually pale and his eyes closed but he was still breathing. Merlin sighed in relief as he realized that Sirius Black was not dead, he was very much alive and here with them now and he needed immediate treatment. 

"Wingardium Leviosa!" said Merlin and suddenly Sirius was lifted up in the air and floating towards the corridors.

"Professor, where -" began James but Merlin cut him off.

"I've sent Sirius to the hospital wing. Remus you will accompany him and once you get there tell Madame Pomfrey that Professor Dragoon advised the use of the essence of dittany on him." said Merlin briskly and Remus nodded and quickly followed a floating Sirius to the hospital wing.

"Pettigrew, leave Mr. Potter with me. I wish to have a few words with him." said Professor Dragoon The Great and Peter scurried away without a second glance.

Merlin saw James staring incredulously at someone and he followed James' gaze to see a frozen and shocked Lily Evans standing there. Merlin had almost witnessed someone who he cared about greatly die, so he had no patience or kindness towards anyone or anything right now.

"You!" snapped Professor Dragoon The Great and both James and Lily jumped up in alarm "Miss Evans, where is Mr. Snape, the caster of this particular spell?"

"Uh - he's not here." mumbled Lily shamefacedly "He - I think - he ran away."

"Like the little coward that he is." muttered James under his breath hardly audible to anyone except Merlin who possessed super hearing.

"Well, Miss Evans, considering you are Mr. Snape's best friend, please fetch him for me. Tell him I wish to speak a few words to him in my office along with Potter and you." informed Professor Dragoon The Great in a steely tone.

"Yes, Professor." said Lily nodding and obediently running off.

He turned to James and he nodded for James to follow him. Merlin quickly made his way into his office and closed the door behind him after James had entered. As Merlin made his way to his one of his armchairs he suddenly realized that James and him were covered in Sirius' blood. He turned around and pointed the wand at alarmed James and said "Tergeo" and all the blood that James Potter was covered in vanished in an instant. He muttered the spell again and he was clean from all the blood that was over him. 

"Thanks." he heard James mutter quietly.

"Have a seat Potter." said Professor Dragoon The Great gesturing towards an armchair by the fire.

James took that seat and Merlin sat in the armchair opposite to James. James looked at Professor Dragoon The Great for a few moments before saying softly "Thank you."

Professor Dragoon The Great remained silent and James continued speaking, his voice hoarse "You saved his life. Thank you."

"I couldn't let Sirius die on my watch." replied Merlin and it terrified him how true it was. It terrified him how much he cared for the stubborn, charming, brilliant and kind Sirius Black. All these years, after Arthur's death, he had closed his heart off to everyone and he was happy being that way. But today, he felt the horror and the fear of losing someone he dearly cared about and couldn't afford to lose. He hadn't felt this way in centuries and to feel this way again was earth shattering and life changing.

Merlin quietly waved his wand and suddenly there was a tray with two cups, a teapot and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. He looked at James and nodded "Have some tea and a cookie Potter."

James nodded and took the cup in his hands and the tea pot started pouring freshly made, warm tea and James took a cookie as well. Merlin took a cup and the teapot poured lovely and hot tea to his cup and he blew on it slightly and took a small sip.

James looked at Professor Dragoon The Great who was sipping his tea calmly "Professor, all of this is really nice - but you didn't call me here to have a cookie with you right?"

"You're right, Mr. Potter." said Merlin nodding at James "I want to know what happened."

"Well, it's just - all a bit blurry after what happened but really I just asked Lily out and she said no and I was just teasing her because she is so easy to tease, her face becomes the color of her hair and she's so beautiful when she's angry -" said James rambling on but stopped when he saw Professor Dragoon's expression "Well, then Snivellus comes in and calls Remus and Sirius some pretty horrible stuff for being gay - they aren't gay - well I think they like each other but they both don't know it yet - I have this plan to get them toget - anyway that made me angry because what kind of sick, twisted person thinks being gay is an insult?" asked James fiercely and for a moment Merlin feels pride for James "And then if he hadn't done enough damage already, Snivellus, that fucking bastard -" Merlin coughs at the language but James ignores him "He calls me, Remus and Sirius privileged!!! The fucking nerve of that little twat!!!"

"And why does being privileged make you angry?" asked Merlin amazed at James colorful vocabulary.

"Oh it doesn't - well it does make me angry but I understand it when he calls me privileged. I'm not going to deny that. I am privileged, Professor The Great. My family is well know, well respected and wealthy. I know that and I understand that." said James 

"Then why are you angry?" asked Merlin puzzled but also amazed at how intelligent James was to recognize his position and power.

"Because he called Remus and Sirius privileged!!!" snapped James making Merlin spill a bit of hot tea in alarm. "They - fucking hell Professor Dragoon - you have no idea what they go through. Sirius - Sirius has a family name that's a huge burden to him and his family calls him a blood traitor every day in every horrible letter they send to him and he has horrible nightmares of his home. And don't even get me started on Remus! Professor I think you know as well as I do the secret that Remus keeps. He goes through so much of pain and suffering every once a month and he just smiles and laughs like nothing is wrong so that we won't be worried about him! For Merlin's sake, Professor when we first told him we knew his secret he had a horrible meltdown because he thought we were going to get him kicked out of school because he thinks of himself as a monster!!!"

Merlin's mouth had opened in surprise and his eyes had widened in shock as he listened to James Potter's rant. Out of all the things he expected James Potter to say, this had not been one of them. This boy sitting in front of him was no doubt arrogant but what struck Merlin about James was how caring and protective he was about his best friends. How much love his heart possessed for his best friends. And how he would stand by his best friends through anything. Merlin felt a lump rise in his throat as suddenly he saw Arthur's cocky yet kind face in the place of James for a moment and then it vanished as if Merlin had never seen it in the first place. 

"Snivellus can call me privileged all he wants." spat James angrily, his eyes shining with frustration and determination "But he does not get to call my best friends Sirius and Remus privileged. I won't stand for it."

Merlin remained quiet, not knowing what to say or do and James jutted out his chin bravely "What? Aren't you going to punish me as the Disciplinary Professor?"

Merlin swallowed the lump in his throat and then said "Well, I want you to write an apology note."

"What?" asked James disbelievingly.

"To Miss Evans. I hear you've been pestering her to go on a date with you." said Merlin wondering what the hell he was doing.

"That's because she won't go out with me. I like her Professor!" said James folding his arms stubbornly.

"Well Mr. Potter, she doesn't like you. And she has told you no a million times." said Merlin as he sipped his tea.

"But I just thought -"

"That she was playing hard to get. Mr. Potter, Miss Evans genuinely does not like you. She gave you her answer and if you really like her you will respect her wishes." said Merlin wisely, thinking about the old days when idiot men who did not understand the meaning of no would keep on wooing maidens.

James stayed silent for a few moments and then said "I never thought of it like that."

"Well every day is a learning day." remarked Merlin rubbing his forehead tiredly "And also as part of your punishment, you will be doing Sirius' homework, until he has recovered."

"That's fair." nodded James understandingly to Merlin's surprise "After all Snivellus wanted that spell to hit me but Sirius took the blow for me."

"Indeed." said Merlin and then sighed "I hope I will not see any rowdy and ungentlemanly behavior from you in the future Mr. Potter. You're dismissed. Send Severus Snape in."

James got up and began to walk towards the door and after taking a few steps he stopped and turned towards Professor Dragoon The Great "Professor, the spell Snape used, that's not exactly well taught in Hogwarts."

"No it's not Mr. Potter." agreed Professor Dragoon The Great.

"It's dark magic and it was intended to hurt me. Badly." said James and his voice was somber and serious "I don't know about you but if I were you, I'd keep an eye on him. These are dark times."

Merlin knew exactly what James was saying. Lord Voldemort was rising and more and more muggles and wizards and witches who stood up to him were killed every day. There were headlines about Lord Voldemort and his activities in the Daily Prophet every day. And more and more talented and prejudiced and ignorant wizards and witches were joining Lord Voldemort in fear or in ignorance or in hope of glory and fame. It was a horrible, scary and dark time and even though Merlin didn't want to think about what James was implying, he found himself pondering on it. Could Severus Snape want to be one of those followers of the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters?

"I'll deal with Mr. Snape." said Merlin briskly and watched the boy walk towards the door and stopped him by saying "James, Remus and Sirius are privileged to have you as their best friend."

James turned around and gave Professor Dragoon The Great a smile and then opened the door and left the office. Merlin could hear a low exchange of words and then after a moment, Severus Snape entered his office.

"Good evening Mr. Snape." greeted Professor Dragoon The Great "Please close the door."

Severus closed the door and walked slowly towards the Professor who was now sitting in his chair at his desk and the Professor nodded at Severus curtly "Take a seat Mr. Snape."

Severus took a seat in front of his Professor who was looking at him expressionlessly and Severus felt jittery and nervous. Professor Dragoon The Great looked at Severus Snape for a few moments and said "Do tell me about the curse you used on Sirius Black, Mr. Snape."

"Professor, it wasn't a curse, it was just a harmless spell -" began Severus nervously but Merlin felt anger flare inside him at such an excuse.

"Cut your excuses Mr. Snape! I am your Defense Against Dark Arts Professor! Do you really think you can fool me?" asked Merlin coldly, glaring at Severus "Harmless spell? A harmless spell turns your black hair into a bright neon pink! A harmless spell does not do the extent of damage rendered to Sirius Black by your curse!"

"I - Professor I do not see why you are angry -" began Severus smoothly hoping that the Head of his House would understand.

"Mr. Snape a student nearly died by your magic. If not for me, you would be a murderer by now." said Professor Dragoon The Great calmly trying to keep his composure. "Now answer my question. Where did you learn such a fascinating spell?"

Severus Snape remained quiet for a few moments and then blurted out "I didn't."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't learn it. I invented the spell." said Severus quietly wondering how his Professor would react.

Merlin was stunned and he looked at Severus' pleased face as he finally managed to speak out "You invented it?"

"Yes, I did." said Severus his lips curling into an unpleasant smile.

"This curse is powerful and fatal. How on earth did you manage to create such a curse?" asked Merlin his eyes narrowed and wondering whether he underestimated Severus' brilliance in DADA. Severus was good when it came to Defense Against Dark Arts, in fact Severus was one of his best students but Merlin wondered how powerful Severus was in the Dark Arts to have created such a deadly curse that almost killed a student.

"I created it for enemies. I went through a few books in the restricted section and you know the normal things you do when you want to create a spell." said Severus in a boasting tone.

"Of course." agreed Merlin with a smile but inside he was fuming "And you classify Sirius Black as an enemy?"

"He is an over privileged, stuck up, cock sucking poof." spat out Severus in such a bitter tone that it made Merlin wonder how much hatred was bubbling inside Severus.

"That brings me to my next issue. You insulted Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin by calling them degrading slurs that are reserved for gay men." said Merlin calmly wondering how on earth he was so calm. Gwen and Lancelot would have been so proud of him at that moment.

"That's because they are! They are -" began Severus in a disgusted voice but Merlin cut him off

"Mr. Snape, Hogwarts wishes to provide an education and a safe space for students of all genders, races, religions, nationalities and sexualities." said Merlin tapping his finger on the desk "You bullying Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black who do not even belong into the LGBTQ group is not helping our cause."

"They are gay! They are always around each other and they flirt all the time with each other and -" said Severus accusingly but Merlin shook his head even though he knew what Severus was saying was true. Remus and Sirius flirted the hell with each other every single moment.

"Mr. Snape, it's no business of yours but they are good friends." said Merlin in an attempt to protect Remus and Sirius "And what is wrong with being gay? Love is love and that is beautiful."

"But -" began Severus but Merlin had heard enough.

"That's enough Mr. Snape!" snapped Professor Dragoon The Great "You have created a curse which is filled with dark magic and for that I cannot give you a punishment because that is not in my authority. It is in the Headmaster's power to deal with such matters and I will tell him about this issue immediately."

"Professor, you are the Head of Slytherin, you have the power to -" protested Severus Snape agitated and horrified at the thought of facing the Headmaster.

"Mr. Snape, you will also apologize to Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin." said Professor Dragoon The Great.

Severus' jaw dropped in shock and he shook his head "NO WAY! I WON'T DO THAT PROFESSOR!"

"You attempted to kill Mr. Potter, you nearly killed Mr. Black and you insulted Messrs. Black and Lupin." said Professor Dragoon The Great in a dangerous and determined voice "I think that deserves a wonderful and heartfelt apology. And you will be serving detention under me for three months."

Severus opened his mouth to protest but Professor Dragoon The Great didn't allow him to say anything "As the Head of your House my decision is final, Mr. Snape. I hope to see better behavior from you because this is not what I expect from a proper Slytherin."

Severus' nodded sullenly and he quickly left Professor Dragoon The Great's office sulkily without saying a word.


	7. Sectumsempra!!!

Merlin who was in disguise as Professor Dragoon The Great was marking the Defense Against Dark Arts essays submitted to him by his students in the peace and quiet of his office when he heard a soft knock on the door of his office. Merlin paused for a moment, wondering whether he had misheard it since it was so soft but then someone knocked at the door quietly, two times. Merlin could not be bothered to get up and walk towards the door and open it since his feet were aching so he muttered a spell and the door opened naturally, revealing a tired Sirius Black.

Merlin felt relief run throughout his veins as he nodded silently for Sirius Black to enter in. The dark haired boy quietly entered into the office, closed the door behind him and made his way into the office. Merlin felt relief and happiness at seeing Sirius fully healed. Merlin had visited a sleeping Sirius in the hospital wing when no one was there and performed healing and safety charms, fussed over the potions made by Madame Pomfrey and would sometimes make Sirius' potions himself. Normally, Madame Pomfrey would protest at such insolence but she never said a word when Professor Dragoon The Great handled healing maladies because she knew that he was the only one in the castle besides her that was capable of the art of healing. Merlin had conjured up an everlasting bouquet of flowers at Sirius' bed stand which would spread magical and swift healing powers over Sirius. In addition to that, Merlin made sure that Sirius Black's blankets were warm, the food was plentiful and healthy and whenever Sirius woke up there would a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans and boxes of Chocolate Frogs by his bed stand.

Sirius Black was still standing awkwardly and shuffling his feet and Merlin realized that he was waiting for an invitation to sit. So Merlin, or rather Professor Dragoon The Great nodded his head kindly at Sirius and said "Good Evening Sirius. Have a seat."

Sirius took a seat in front of Professor Dragoon The Great and Merlin flicked his wand with twinkling eyes "Tea? Coffee? Butterbeer?"

Sirius chuckled at the last offer "I'm not sure that teachers are allowed to offer alcohol to students Professor."

"Well, teachers aren't allowed to help their students turn into unregistered animagi but here I am." replied Professor Dragoon The Great with a mischievous smile.

Sirius smiled at his Professor "I'll have tea."

"Good. Because I don't have Butterbeer." said Professor Dragoon The Great and Sirius laughed at that. "How do you like your tea, Sirius?"

"Um - I really don't mind anything." replied the tired boy as he leaned back on the chair.

Professor Dragoon The Great nodded and then he flicked his wand again and two hot cups of tea appeared in front of them. Professor Dragoon The Great took one cup and Sirius carefully took another cup and blew on it before sipping on it.

"What is this stuff?" asked Sirius his face screwed up after sipping it.

"I take it you don't like it?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great trying not to laugh at Sirius' surprised expression.

"No, it's - well - it's really strong." said Sirius and then looked at Professor Dragoon The Great curiously "What is this?"

"It's ginger tea, Sirius. It has strong healing properties which strengthens your immunity." informed Professor Dragoon The Great to Sirius

Sirius sniffed the tea "I think I smell honey - and - lemon?"

Professor Dragoon The Great looked very pleased "That's right. Honey is an effective germ killer, helps in tissue regeneration, boosts healing time and reduces infection. Lemon also ward off infections but it also cleans the blood in our body."

Sirius regarded Professor Dragoon The Great with a solemn expression and then spoke with his lips slightly twitching "So ginger tea with honey and lemon - this is basically like a healing potion eh?"

"Basically." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a smile.

They sipped on their teas in companionable silence. Merlin noticed that Sirius was shifting in his seat from time to time but he didn't press the matter hoping that Sirius would talk to him about whatever he wanted to talk about. 

"It's good to see you all healed up." said Professor Dragoon The Great and he truly meant it.

"Well Madame Pomfrey did a darn good job of fixing me up." said Sirius with a charming smile and then looked at Professor Dragoon The Great gratefully "And you, Professor."

Professor Dragoon The Great remained silent and Sirius continued "I - I - well - you saved me. You didn't let me bleed out dry and die. Thank you Professor."

Merlin could feel a lump of emotion form in his throat and he swallowed it down "Well, I - I couldn't let you die Sirius."

Sirius looked at him as if he could almost read Merlin "Why?"

"Why?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great taken aback.

"Yeah. Why couldn't you let me die? Your life would be much easier without me." said Sirius stubbornly but there was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

"I have a duty of care towards you, Sirius." said Merlin softly and gently, wondering why Sirius would think his life would be easier without him.

"I never asked you for that." said Sirius almost defensively.

"You never had too." replied Merlin with a gentle smile and he was positive he saw tears shining in Sirius' eyes.

Sirius stayed silent for a few moments contemplating on what those words meant, trying to blink away the traitorous tears that had formed in his eyes. For so long, he had survived with the knowledge that no adult in the wizarding world cared for him but then Professor Dragoon The Great had come and proved him wrong every time. Sirius thought he didn't need any guidance or approval of a parent or mentor to survive because of everything his family does to him but Professor Dragoon The Great had shown a great deal of paternal patience, guidance and care for Sirius from the moment they had met. Then Professor Dragoon The Great, who Sirius kind of looked up to had saved his life. Little did Professor Dragoon The Great know that he had saved Sirius' life from the moment he had called him by his first name and not his family name. 

Then Sirius asked "Why do you call me Sirius? I've hear you call my brother by our family name but never me. Why?"

"I was under the impression that you did not like your family name." said Professor Dragoon The Great as he cocked his head to the side.

"I - well - I don't. It's - I don't want to talk about it." said Sirius and Professor Dragoon The Great nodded understandingly.

"It's fine. I understand. Whenever you are ready to talk about it, I'm here."

"Professor. Can I ask you something?" asked Sirius nervously, fidgeting in the chair.

"Of course. Go right ahead."

"Well. Professor - do you ever get along with your family?" asked Sirius, not meeting Professor Dragoon The Great's eyes.

Merlin was taken aback by the question and felt his heart thump in nostalgia and heartbreak as he croaked out "Well - I - not much of a family to get along with."

"Oh." said Sirius feeling stupid, selfish and foolish "I didn't know - "

"They're all dead." said Merlin trying to sound confident but his voice cracked a little "My mother - well - she was the strongest woman I know. She was a muggle. My father was magic. They fell in love. But he had to leave her for his own safety and my mother's safety and after few months my mother gave birth to me."

"Oh." breathed Sirius looking at Professor Dragoon The Great "So, you - well - did he ever -"

"He never came back. I never knew him." said Merlin feeling tears prick his eyes "But I met him once. But he died very soon and I didn't get the chance - to get to know him well and to learn everything that he could have taught me."

"But - I want him to be proud of me. Whatever I do, I hope that my father will be proud of the man who I am today." said Merlin with a sigh and then shook his head at Sirius "Why am I even telling you this?"

Sirius smiled at Merlin "I guess, I have one of those faces."

Merlin saw Gwaine grinning in the place of Sirius for one moment and then he was gone "I suppose so."

They sat there in silence again with the sound of the fire crackling and then Sirius spoke up "Professor, I've been meaning to speak to you about something."

"What is it?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great in concern.

Sirius' face hardened as he sneered "Sectumsempra. Snivelly wanted to kill James but because I jumped in front of James to protect him, it almost killed me instead. That's not your ordinary magic Professor, it's dark, foul, evil magic and Snivellus seems to know it all too well."

Merlin knew this was coming eventually "Sirius, his name is Severus Snape -"

"I don't give a fuck what his name is. I don't even care anymore. He tried to kill James !!!! But he ended up almost killing me!!!" yelled Sirius, startling Professor Dragoon The Great "Why the fuck isn't he expelled?"

"Because I don't have the authority - " began Merlin calmly but Sirius interrupted him.

"But you're the Head of his House!!!"

"As much as I appreciate the fact that everyone thinks I hold all the power over students just because I am the Head of Slytherin House, I would like to state that I don't have any power when it comes to deciding grave matters such as the expulsion of students." said Professor Dragoon The Great calmly but firmly "That power lies with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore."

"Did you even send him to the Headmaster?" asked Sirius sulkily.

"Of course I did. And it is Professor Dumbledore's decision to give Mr. Snape a second chance to redeem himself." said Professor Dragoon The Great.

"He's - Professor Dumbledore is out of his mind !!!" protested Sirius angrily "Snivellus is a slimy git who doesn't deserve a second chance!"

"Why doesn't he?" asked Merlin curiously.

"Because - well - I - because he almost killed me! Or have you already forgotten that?" asked Sirius raising his eyebrows at Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Well, that is a little hard to forget considering that I was the one who saved you from almost dying." replied Merlin with his eyebrows raised high and mightily and Sirius had the grace to look a little ashamed.

"Sirius, everyone deserves a second chance. I think you know that better than anyone else here." said Merlin wisely to a sulky boy who was listening "Severus Snape's redemption will only work if you take a chance on him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sirius.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you bullying him." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a frown. "You've been bullying him since the first day you both met and ever since then Severus Snape has been bottling up so much of anger and hatred against you and it finally burst out two weeks ago."

"So this is my fault now?" asked Sirius feeling his temper flare up again.

Professor Dragoon The Great sighed heavily "Sirius. What I'm saying is that it's not too late to change your ways."

"My ways? Why don't you ask him to change his stupid -" began Sirius but Professor Dragoon The Great interrupted him.

"I have asked him. In fact, I have ordered him to do so." snapped Merlin making Sirius flinch "Be brave enough to be the better person. I know you can be, Sirius. Severus Snape may have got a chance to start over but it will not be worthwhile if you continue to prove him right, to show him that he is right in what he thinks of you."

"All that hate -" mumbled Sirius shaking his head "I'm not sure if I can, Professor."

"You can." said Professor Dragoon The Great patting Sirius' shoulder. " I believe in you, Sirius."

Sirius looked at Professor Dragoon The Great with suspiciously wet eyes and sniffed "I'll try."

"Good boy." said Professor Dragoon The Great approvingly.

Sirius laughed and then smiled at Professor Dragoon The Great "Professor I know I said this before, but thank you for saving my life."

What Sirius meant by that was not just saving his life at the courtyard. He meant that he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for taking a chance on him. He meant that he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for believing in him. He meant that he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for guiding him in the right path. He meant he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for seeing through him, for seeing that there was more to him than being a member of the Noble House of Black. He meant that he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for always being there for him. He meant that he was thankful to Professor Dragoon The Great for caring about him, for being the father he never had and always wanted. 

But Professor Dragoon The Great must have understood because he smiled at the young boy and pulled him into a warm hug. Sirius was stunned at first because he was hardly ever given any form of affection in his home but he soon hugged the old man back, glad to have someone in his life who watched over him, even if it was an eccentric, sarcastic and old Defense Against Dark Arts Professor.


	8. Amortentia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is in the air as The Marauders brew Amortentia with a little help from Merlin disguised as Professor Dragoon The Great

The creepy and large Potions classroom was buzzing with excitement as the sixth years chattered about everything and nothing from their NEWTS to the approaching war to their future in the wizarding world while enchanted paper birds flew about lazily. During their years in Hogwarts, their conversations had progressed from silly, fun and nonsensical to serious, scared and solemn because of the news of Lord Voldemort's steady rising and his cruelty towards all those who did not follow his vision of cleansing and purifying the wizarding world of muggle - borns and bringing it to greatness once more. Because of Lord Voldemort's actions more and more Slytherins were getting bullied and tormented by Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, although some good - hearted Hufflepuffs stepped up to defend Slytherins from the unnecessary bullying. Lord Voldemort's followers were increasing day by day and even though they were just children, just students in Hogwarts, they knew that eventually they had to choose a side in the war which would determine their fate, once and for all. The atmosphere at Hogwarts was tense, strained and anxious because of the impending war and the warning of death that silently hung in the air.

James Potter was quietly thinking about all of this as he scribbled down notes on his Potions text book. He was trying his best to be optimistic and brave for his best friends and classmates but even he couldn't help but be worried about the war. His gaze fell on a vivid and smart young woman with bright red hair who was talking with her friends about something and wondered how Lily Evans was feeling. He was a Pureblood and somehow that helped him but she was a Muggle Born who was in constant danger in this war. How was she able to smile brightly and raise her hand bravely in every class to say an answer and pass every exam with flying colors when she knew there was a target on her back? James felt shivers of fright running through his body as he realized that Lily was in constant danger and any second he could find her dead because of a psychopath's hatred towards Muggles. James felt terrified and petrified at the thought of Lily dead. He could not bear - no he could not even -

"Hello! Earth to James?" a familiar voice called him out of his thoughts as he looked away from Lily and stopped scribbling on the book "James to Earth?"

"Yeah?" asked James carelessly as he looked at the source of the voice, Sirius, who was wearing a bright grin but his eyes were filled with concern.

"Are you alright, mate?" asked Sirius, looking at James knowingly because he knew that James being silent and scribbling his ideas for potions thoughtlessly were signs that James was not in a good place.

"I'm fine." said James, managing to smile at Sirius, Remus and Peter and then asked "Where's Slughorn?"

Remus opened his mouth to say something but a voice boomed over all of them, making the class go silent "Professor Slughorn will not be taking the class today due to unfavorable circumstances. Therefore I will be taking over your Potions lessons."

The students' jaws dropped wide at the sight of Professor Dragoon the Great marching into the Potions classroom, his stately green robes flowing elegantly and his long, white beard ever so pristine and magnificent. James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were taken aback and shocked and Sirius was the first one to recover from his shock as he spoke up "But Professor, you're the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher!"

"I am incredibly skilled in the area of Defense Against Dark Arts, Sirius." said Professor Dragoon The Great who was Merlin in disguise "But I am also extremely accomplished Potioneer. I am a sorcerer with many accomplishments in many areas of magic."

Severus Snape opened his mouth in objection and Professor Dragoon The Great saw that and said "And if anyone wishes to test me, they are most welcome. Just be warned, the last wizard who challenged me died a very, very slow and painful death."

Severus Snape snapped his mouth shut and most of the class gulped in fear and Merlin sighed satisfied. Merlin was not having a good day. In fact, he was not having a good life, these few days. News of Lord Voldemort, or as he had known him, Tom Riddle had reached him and he had been shocked and terrified and hurt that the cycle was repeating again. Merlin was tired and exhausted because he, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn and a few other teachers in Hogwarts and some wizards and witches had joined forces together to bring down Lord Voldemort secretly. The reason that Slughorn had not been able to come to teach the Potions class today was because Professor Dumbledore had sent him on a secret mission, the details of which were only known to Slughorn and Dumbledore. Merlin was doing his best to stop Lord Voldemort but Lord Voldemort was more cunning and powerful and evil - in the likes of which he had never seen. Merlin could not even compare Morgana to him. Could he? Morgana had once been his friend and when she confided in Merlin that she had magic, Merlin tried his best to help her without revealing his magic because he was fearful of what would happen to him if it had been discovered. And Merlin was sure, that Morgana wouldn't see eye to eye with him when it came to hiding magic. Even if he revealed his magic to her, in time, Morgana would have persuaded him to use it to take over Camelot, to rule it and to make it a better place for everyone. But Merlin's desires were different from hers. But whenever he thought about Morgana, he always wonders if things would have been different. If he hadn't poisoned her and instead spoken to her about the source of the magic. If he had revealed his magic to her. If he had told her about how Arthur had reacted when she was almost dying and if he had told her about how he had healed her with his magic. If he had told her about the prophecies and the need to protect Arthur so that together they could bring the Golden Age of Albion. Whenever he thought of the bold and beautiful Morgana, the cruel word 'If' always popped up. Even though Morgana had done the cruelest and cold hearted acts and what she did was intolerable, she had done it in the name of justice for all magic users. But Lord Voldemort simply harbored hatred towards muggleborns and everything they stood for. Merlin hated this war because it bought back memories of Morgana, the war he had fought in, the family he had lost and the blood that his hands were drenched in. But Merlin knew that dwelling in the past was useless and he could only stop another massacre if he got himself together and worked hard to stop Lord Voldemort from achieving his evil intentions.

Merlin sighed quietly as he said trying his best not to let the exhaustion show in his voice "So today as your Potions Master, before I get into the lesson, let me give you a small introduction. Potions are not for the impatient, but their effects are usually difficult to undo by any but another skilled potioneer. This branch of magic carries a certain mystique and therefore status."

Merlin smiled at the quiet students in the classroom who were looking at him "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." Merlin then smirked at the class as he smoothed his beard "But today I will be teaching you how to enchant the heart."

The class burst into excited chatter as the girls squealed and giggled in excitement and the boys nudged and whispered with each other in anticipation. Merlin felt his heart lighten at their innocence and could not help but smile at their enthusiasm and excitement. Lily blushed a beetroot red, Marlene McKinnon rolled her eyes, Dorcas Meadowes giggled and Alice Longbottom eyed a flushed Frank Longbottom longingly. Sirius nudged James who nudged him back and Remus just shook his head at both of them chuckling while Peter laughed at his friends.

"Amortentia!" announced Merlin as Professor Dragoon The Great as he clapped his hands together getting the attention of all his excited students "Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world!"

All the students looked at Professor Dragoon The Great in keen attention as he began to speak "Can anyone tell me why Amortentia is distinctive?"

A hand shot up into the air and Professor Dragoon The Great was not at all surprised to see that it was Lily Evans and smiled at her as she asked "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Amortentia is distinctive for its mother - of - pearl sheen, and steam rises from the potion in characteristic spirals." answered Lily in an all - knowing way, ignoring the mutterings from the Slytherin table and also ignoring the soft admiring praises from James Potter who was greeted by Remus, Sirius and Peter rolling their eyes at him.

"You are correct, Miss Evans." said Professor Dragoon The Great with an approving nod, which made Lily smile in delight "Although Amortentia is considered to be a very powerful love potion, it is also classified as a highly dangerous potion. Does anyone know why that is?"

Someone lazily put their hand up in the air and Professor Dragoon The Great was surprised to see that it was James Potter. He ignored Severus Snape's horrible glare and Lily's annoyed expression and focused his attention towards James as he said "Ah, Mr. Potter! What a pleasant surprise. Yes, what is the answer?"

"A skillful potioneer can induce powerful infatuations through Amortentia. It causes a powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker. The person under the effect of the potion will only hold an obsession for the person who administered it." drawled James Potter, naturally and effortlessly as he leaned back on his chair.

Merlin was truly taken aback at the answer but then he had to remind himself that this was James Potter. James Potter who had managed to successfully turn into unregistered animagus under the noses of the teachers in Hogwarts. James Potter who would get high marks for his exams in every subject at Hogwarts especially in Defense Against Dark Arts. James Potter who played the fool very well but worked hard and passionately with the mindset of achieving his goals. And Merlin was surprised because James had given an extensive and excellent answer in the subject of Potions, a subject that was very hard and complex to master, a subject that had moved many students to tears and injuries. But the answer had rolled off James tongue naturally and effortlessly as if it was easy as reciting the alphabet. Of course, James Potter was the only and beloved son of Fleamont Potter who was an accomplished, yet retired cosmetic potioneer and entrepreneur best known for inventing Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and who Merlin admired and respected and had met in disguise a few times. But even Merlin at the start had to work in order to become the best of the best at Potions and in the process had blown up many precious trinkets that Gaius had possessed. Merlin's thoughts wandered back to Gaius and smiled fondly knowing that if Gaius had met Lily and James he would have been a incredible admirer of their intellectual ability in the area of Potions.

Merlin swallowed as he smiled mischievously at James "Excellent, Mr. Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor."

James and Sirius highfived each other while Remus patted James on the back and Peter clapped admiringly. "Mr. Potter is right. It creates a powerful infatuation which should not be underestimated. The effects of the potion on a person are described to be near instantaneous. The person who drinks Amortentia will appear 'pale and sickly' and will become obsessed with the object of their affections, speaking of them as though 'hit by a ray of purest sunlight' and will become excited or dangerously unstable towards others."

Sirius raised his hand and Merlin nodded and Sirius began to speak with an easy grin "Professor, quick question, have you ever met anyone who was luuurrrvveee drunk?"

Everyone in the class groaned and Remus whacked Sirius' head with a book, eliciting a indignant yell of "OWWW WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"How is that relevant to the lesson?" asked Remus still clutching the book, not feeling sorry for Sirius who was rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

"Um - excuse me? It's real life experience on how a real person acts when they drink Amortentia." replied Sirius sassily, making Remus sigh "Excuse me for wanting a practical education."

"Alright, calm down." said Merlin who was trying his best not to laugh at Sirius' and Remus' interaction "The answer to your question is no. I have not met someone who was administrated Amortentia."

Sirius' shoulders sagged in disappointment and Merlin continued his lips twitching with the amusement of the memory "But I knew a friend who had been administered a potion similar to Amortentia. A love potion."

The class leaned forward in keen interest and Peter asked "What happened?"

"Well... my friend started acting a little unusual." said Merlin suppressing the laughter that was threatening to escape his lips at the memory of Arthur wooing Princess Vivian and how hurt Merlin had been when Arthur had started following Vivian around like a lost puppy. It all seemed so huge and important then but now looking back it was trivial and funny. "Fortunately, I noticed something was wrong and well - I sought a remedy and he was cured of the infatuation towards the person he did not like in the first place."

"Interesting. What was the remedy?" asked Severus Snape as he rolled his eyes at Professor Dragoon The Great.

"True Love's Kiss." said Merlin casually remembering how he had rushed to Gwen begging her to kiss Arthur but when she had refused, in desperation he had kissed Arthur and to his surprise Arthur had kissed him back. It was the first and last kiss he would ever have with Arthur.

"Are you serious?" asked Lily, laughter present in her voice, skepticism written all over her face.

"Do you not believe in true love, Miss Evans?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great with a small smile as tears pricked his eyes.

"I believe in it but I refuse to believe that it was the remedy to love potion." said Lily, knowing that voicing her true opinion with Professor Dragoon The Great wouldn't get her into trouble. In fact, he was one of the only teachers she could debate and challenge with, without fearing punishment. "That isn't logical."

"I believe in it." spoke up another voice and Professor Dragoon The Great saw that it was none other than James Potter "It is logical if you look at it this way Evans. The love potion makes the drinker obsessed with someone and the only one who can truly break the drinker out of their obsession is the drinker's one true love because no matter what magic clouds their senses, the love that they have for each other will never fade away."

The class was silent for a few moments as they all stared at James in shock and Sirius finally spoke up "Well, okay, first of all, you don't make any sense and second of all, you've just proven yourself as a corny, sappy, romantic."

"Oh as if you aren't a romantic yourself, Sirius." retorted Remus but there was a playful twinkle in his eyes "Were my ears deceiving me or was it you I heard in the shower doing a horrible rendition of 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love'?"

The class began to laugh loudly at that revelation and Sirius Black began to protest "I DID NOT DO THAT!!! THAT WAS PETER!!!"

"Oh no, it was definitely you." said Peter joining in the fun.

"Wait, how is this about me? This is about James being a lovestruck fool!" yelled Sirius indignantly among laughter and chuckles of his classmates.

"Hey, just because I believe in the power of love -" began James but Professor Dragoon the Great clapped his hands and the whole class grew silent.

"Back to the lesson, everybody. The effect that a love potion has will wear off over time. In order to maintain the potion's effect, the giver must continually administer doses or else the recipient may fall out of love with them." said Professor Dragoon The Great seriously "A single dose typically lasts up to twenty four hours but the precise duration is dependent upon the weight of the drinker and as well as the attractiveness of the giver."

"Love potions will work regardless of whether the giver is present when the drinker consumes them. The longer the recipient keeps the potions or the potion spiked item, the more potent their effect will become as love potions mature over time." explained Professor Dragoon The Great as he looked at the sixth years who were listening to every word he was saying "There is an antidote to this but even after it has been given one will still retain all the embarrassing memories of how one acted under the influence of the administered potion. Love potions can cancel out the effects of a Hate Potion and vice versa, as they are opposites of each other."

"Now, the most important point of them all, so pay attention." said Professor Dragoon The Great and every student sat up straight in keen attention "Administering a love potion is an act of coercion, rather than genuine love. The Amortentia can be easily used to abuse and manipulate others, much like the Imperious Curse. It's a wonder that the Ministry has not banned it yet."

"Now, you all here must promise me never to use it." said Professor Dragoon The Great solemnly "Give me your word as my students and I will take it seriously, that you will never use Amortentia to manipulate or abuse people."

Everyone chorused in agreement and Merlin eyed everyone in the room "I am holding everyone to that promise. If I find anyone in breach of that promise - well - you don't want to find out what will happen."

The students gulped again and Merlin continued his lesson.

"The power of love. Despite its power, Amortentia doesn't create actual love. It's impossible to manufacture or imitate love." said Professor Dragoon The Great to the silent students "Never yet has anyone managed to create the truly unbreakable, eternal, unconditional attachment that alone can be called Love."

The students were silent for a few moments reflecting on the profound statement that their Professor Dragoon The Great had just made. Then Professor Dragoon The Great interrupted the silence by stating "Now I will assign you into pairs and you will brew me Amortentia. The best team will win a little prize from me. The ingredients are in the potion cupboard and the instructions are in your textbooks and -" Merlin flicked his wand and the instructions appeared on the blackboard "the blackboard. I want nothing but your best effort. Good luck."

Merlin assigned the students into pairs and then they quickly rushed into the cupboard and started brewing the potion. Merlin watched as he watched his students cut and chop the ingredients, a few pairs clashing in their opposite ideas and disagreeing with each other. One of these pairs being James and Lily.

"Merlin, Potter! You can't do anything right!" exclaimed Lily in frustration as her face grew red as her hair "It says cut the rose petals not crush them."

"Well - it works better when its crushed." argued James, his hair sticking out messily.

"The instructions expressly state 'cut'!" replied Lily crossly, her hair flaring red.

"Potions aren't all about the rules, Evans." retorted James rolling his eyes at her, in a fond manner "It's about improvising and breaking the rules and testing theories."

Merlin listened to this exchange in amusement and he agreed with James about Potions being a subject that was filled with constant change and improvisation and he wondered how their Amortentia would turn out. In the other side of the room, Merlin saw Sirius and Remus quietly and comfortably working with each other, occasionally playfully bickering and bantering with each other. They would look at the instructions and sometimes Remus would run his hand through his hair when he couldn't figure out something and Sirius would quietly point it out for him with a small smile. They were the least of Merlin's problems when they were paired together and that was saying something.

After healing a few injuries, calming down boiling and thunderously bubbling cauldrons and putting out explosions and fires, Merlin was ready to inspect the work of his students. As he walked around, smelling and inspecting the Amortentia, the same fragrance always haunted him bringing back memories.

Rich, slightly damp soil, summer nights and that unique exotic and heady fragrance that only belonged to .... Arthur.

After all this time ..... it was still him. Always.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and concentrated on marking and commenting on the students' performances. He was marking Peter's and Mary's performance of making the potion, he could hear incessant arguing consisting of different yet agitated voices which were way too familiar to him.

"I can't smell a damn thing!" exclaimed James Potter as he sniffed the bubbling potion.

"Impossible!" retorted Lily as she tossed her hair "I am positive I got this right! I am never wrong when it comes to potions."

"Well obviously this is a first for you then." replied James as he crossed his arms.

Lily glared at James fiercely, daring him to insult her intelligence again "Well, I could actually smell something if you didn't use buckets of conditioner this morning for the crow nest that you call your hair!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I wouldn't be the one to talk since the bloody jasmine and mint perfume you are wearing is giving me an asthma attack!" replied James glaring stubbornly at Lily.

Across the room, there was a similar predicament happening as Sirius remarked, raising his eyebrows "Merlin, Moony. How much chocolate do you have with you? It's all I can bloody smell!"

Remus looked at Sirius, snapping the book shut, impatiently and crossly "Me? I can't smell a damn thing over the scent of all the damn cigarettes you've been smoking!"

Merlin looked at James and Lily and Sirius and Remus incredulously wondering how people could be so stupid and Mary MacDonald looked at the two pairs and then at Professor Dragoon The Great in amusement "Think we should tell them?"

"Nah, it's way more fun this way." said Peter with a grin and Mary laughed, even making Merlin chuckle a little bit.

Merlin evaluated a sulking Remus' and sullen Sirius' performance and praised them for a good performance and after his praise they forgot their disagreement as they began to bicker and banter in their usual and friendly way. Then finally, Merlin made his way to a cross Lily's and a stony faced James who looked like they were not on talking terms.

Merlin inspected the potion under the expectant eyes of Lily and James and was taken aback to find the perfect Amortentia potion. The spirals were rising up in a perfectly distinctive shape, the smell was strong and the mother of the pearl sheen was incredible. Merlin looked at James and Lily as his lips broke into a smile "Well done, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans! This is the perfect Amortentia!"

"It is?" asked Lily taken aback but pleased.

"Ha! I told you so!" crowed James Potter punching the air in victory.

"I've heard of your legendary brilliance in Potions, Miss Evans." complimented Merlin graciously ignoring James' idiotic behavior and Lily blushed shyly at the highest praise given to her by her Professor "But Mr. Potter I am surprised at your excellence in this field."

James shrugged casually as he mischievously replied "Well, what can I say Professor. You constantly underestimate me."

Merlin shook his head "No, I correctly estimated you. You are a hard worker with a good brain in that thick skull of yours. Tell me, Mr. Potter why did you crush the rose petals instead of cutting them?"

James was taken aback by the compliment given to him by Professor Dragoon The Great as he struggled to answer "Well - I - uh - it was a gut feeling really - I just thought it would be better to crush it rather than cut it. I just have - I guess I just think about what I would do instead of what is expected to be done and improvise."

"Indeed." said Merlin nodding as he sniffed the Amortentia and inhaled Arthur's fragrance that was so strong that it almost knocked him out "And are all your improvisations in that book?"

Merlin had nodded to a tattered and old book that was open and filled with scribbles and James nodded as Merlin asked permission to look at it. As Merlin picked up the book and looked at it, he read through little annotations and notes that James had made to the actual book and he flicked to the page on that had instructions on the Draught of Living Death and began to read it with interest. On that page, James had crossed out many of the instructions in a messy, eye hurting way and written in quick and almost undecipherable handwriting, his very own altered potion formula on how to make the perfect Draught of Living Death. For an instance, by crushing the Sopophorous bean with the flat side of silver dagger, it releases the juice better than cutting, something that Merlin in all his years of mastering Potion making was unaware of. And another instruction added in his messy handwriting was to add one clockwise stir after seven anticlockwise stirs to obtain the clear colour faster. Merlin flicked through the book, reading the surprisingly insightful and useful tips on Potion making that had come from a sixth year, who happened to be James Potter. Merlin smiled to himself knowing that James Potter had so much of potential in the area of potions.

Professor Dragoon The Great shut the book and handed it over to James who looked nervous as he said in a joking tone "That book has proved to be a far more effective teacher than me, Mr. Potter."

Professor Dragoon The Great and James did not see Severus Snape eyeing the book with interest and curiosity as James put the book back into his bag.

James laughed in relief, glad that he was not in trouble "I don't know about that Professor. You're pretty good yourself." And then he looked at Lily and nodded at her "And besides, Lily's brilliance helped me too."

"Indeed. You two make a great team together." said Professor Dragoon The Great approvingly and the two of them blushed "I already know that Miss Evans is ready to pursue a career in Potion making." Merlin paused and Lily nodded at his statement "What about you, Mr. Potter?"

"What about me?" asked James taken aback by the question.

"Well, have you ever considered a career in potions?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great and James was shocked at the question.

Had James ever considered a career in Potions? Of course, he had. He loved Potions. Potions was like home to him. It was a familiar thing to him because growing up, he had been surrounded by his father's potions and he had watched in awe and fascination as his father brewed potions. He loved making potions, he liked how fascinating and interesting it was that each tiny ingredient could add up and build up into brewing something so powerful, dangerous, enchanting and magical. He liked the comfort brewing potions bought; once he started the process of making it, his mind was focused and concentrated on finishing the potion perfectly. He liked the little things about brewing potions like the bubbles, the smell, the pretty colours and the clouds of smoke rising from the potion. He liked that his hands could brew and bottle power and that he could use it for the good of the people. He liked that potions were always about constantly changing and testing and improvising. If something didn't work, figure out why it didn't work and fix it. He liked that he could use different ingredients and come up with new ideas and new ways to make old and conventional potions. So James wasn't lying when he said that he loved Potions and had, many times, thought about a career in Potions. But there was a war coming up. And as much as their teachers tried to hide it from them and shield them from it, James wasn't naive. James knew that something big and massive was coming for them and when it came, they should be ready. And James didn't want to be brewing potions from the comfort of his home, even if it was his dream, if there was a war coming up. Even if it was his dream to become a potioneer, James knew he had to give up that dream in order to help and fight for the good cause. James wanted to fight in the war, he wanted to protect everyone he loved and he didn't want evil to triumph in the end. He didn't want to give Lord Voldemort the satisfaction of winning and he wouldn't sit on his arse - no - he would go out there and fight for all that is good and pure in this world. That was his duty. That was his duty towards everyone in the world, towards his best friends, towards his family and most of all towards himself.

Because James Potter would never forgive himself if he didn't do what was right. "I don't know." replied James not looking at Professor Dragoon The Great.

Merlin saw through James immediately, he saw a young boy who was torn between wanting to follow his dreams and wanting to do what was right.

And so Merlin gently said "Well, you could take your time to decide. Do an apprenticeship."

"Professor Slughorn has already chosen his two candidates for his apprenticeship." said James, his voice rough and then cleared his throat "Lily and Snive - I mean Snape. And besides, I don't really want to do the apprenticeship with Slughorn. He is - well - vain - no don't tell him I said that -"

But to James' surprise, Professor Dragoon the Great laughed "I take it you're not in the Slug Club?" "The Club for the best and the brightest?" said James with a chuckle. He had been invited along with Sirius but since Remus and Peter hadn't been invited James and Sirius had turned down the offer. "Not a chance."

"Well, Professor Slughorn is a very good teacher. But Horace likes his comfort, he likes the company of the famous, the successful and the powerful. He enjoys the feeling that he influences these people." said Professor Dragoon the Great with a smile "But he is a good man."

"Oh I have no doubt about that." replied James with a sigh. "I don't think he's the potions master for me." " Well, what if you don't apprentice for Horace?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great in a low voice "What if your apprenticeship was with another excellent and competent Potions Master" Merlin paused as he looked at James "Me?"

"You?" asked James Potter surprised and taken aback "You want me to be your apprentice?"

"I know a thing or two about potions, Mr. Potter." said Professor Dragoon The Great "And I reckon, you can teach me a thing or two as well."

"But - I - well - I don't know." said James Potter unsure and uncertain.

"Mr. Potter - James." said Professor Dragoon the Great gently "You don't need to be sure whether you want to pursue a career in potions. Your love for and competence in potions are enough for this apprenticeship. Just think about it."

James was silent for a few moments and then nodded with a small, hopeful smile. "Okay. Yeah. I'll think about it."

"Good." said Professor Dragoon the Great and then walked in front of the class "Now, to announce the best team. The pair who had the best Amortentia potion is ...... Lily Evans and James Potter!"

Everyone started clapping and Sirius started wolf whistling as the two students walked forward and Professor Dragoon shook their hands "Well done, you two! Come, claim your prizes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans!"

"Wicked!" grinned James Potter as he accepted the box from Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Wow! Thank you, Professor!" said Lily with an excited smile as she took the box from a beaming Professor Dragoon The Great.

"Oh be careful with those beans, won't you? There are some particularly nasty ones in there." said Professor Dragoon The Great with a wink at Lily and James who were laughing as they walked back to their seats.

"And the runner up is ....... Remus and Sirius!" announced Professor Dragoon The Great and James and Peter made a big deal of clapping and stamping and whistling as their two best friends made their way up front to accept their prize.

"A box of chocolate frogs, for you both." said Professor Dragoon The Great as he generously gave them both their prizes.

Sirius groaned as Remus excitedly grinned at the chocolate frogs "Urgh Professor! He already has tons of chocolate! He already stinks of chocolate!"

"He means 'thank you' Professor." said Remus quickly, afraid that Professor Dragoon The Great would confiscate their chocolate at Sirius' rudeness.

"Yes, I know." said Professor Dragoon The Great patiently "Through the years, I have mastered the 'Sirius' language."

"Love you too, Professor." yelled Sirius as Remus dragged him away.

"Well, the rest of you have done good jobs on your potions but you need to improve if you want to get at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' in your N.E.W.T.S." said Professor Dragoon The Great firmly "Now I understand that Amortentia is one of the most difficult potions to brew and sixth year is hard for you but put in your full effort and hard work and I am sure that all of you will pass your N.E.W.T.S very well."

The students nodded glumly and Professor Dragoon The Great felt bad in saying the next few words "Now, I am giving you homework. Compare Amortentia with the Imperious Curse and the Hate Potion. I want at least three pages of full effort and intelligence." The students groaned and some even banged their heads on the table and Merlin winced in pity "I am sorry but this is for your own good. Hand it over to Professor Slughorn once you are done."

"And I forgot to mention something in the lesson." said Professor Dragoon the Great with a mischievous smile as he looked at James and Lily and Remus and Sirius "Amortentia has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive, even if the person doesn't acknowledge or is unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves."

The looks on Remus and Sirius and James and Lily's faces were worth to Professor Dragoon the Great as he suppressed the laughter at seeing the embarrassed and shy expressions on their faces, blushing as they looked at their partners in sudden realization.

"Class dismissed!"


	9. The Swan

Although all the teachers and students knew of Professor Dragoon The Great, he still remained a man of mystery and mystique to everyone. There was something about him that made people like him immediately, perhaps it was his twinkle in his cerulean blue eyes, or his roaring laughter at simple jokes made by children or the little treats he would hand out to his students when they performed extremely well and how he encouraged those who weren't at their best to keep going or maybe it was the way he treated all the students the same, regardless of their houses, blood status, gender, sexuality, race and religion.

There were many labels that Professor Dragoon The Great was given by everyone. The teachers called him a good and disciplined colleague to work with and a man of many jokes to liven up the staff room. Albus Dumbledore personally knew that Professor Dragoon The Great was in disguise as Merlin, but he never disclosed that particular secret instead choosing to praise Professor Dragoon The Great as one of the greatest sorcerers that ever walked the earth and honoring him with the title of his closest confidante and friend. Filch, Madame Pince and Madam Pomfrey loved Professor Dragoon The Great for different reasons. Filch liked Professor Dragoon The Great because surprisingly and shockingly, Professor Dragoon The Great had been one of the very rare human beings that his cat had taken great fondness to and Filch was convinced that if his cat liked Professor Dragoon The Great, then the teacher was a good man. Madame Pince and Madame Pomfrey both swooned over Professor Dragoon The Great, to Merlin's annoyance and the students' amusement. They both adored Professor Dragoon The Great's gorgeous snowy white beard, beautiful and colorful robes, his vast and extensive knowledge on magic and his polite and courteous manners which they both ardently believed that many wizards lacked. In their eyes, he was the perfect suitor for them. The students loved Professor Dragoon The Great, they loved how enthusiastic he was about Defense Against Dark Arts and how he taught in a way that was easy and fun to learn. They loved his sarcastic remarks, good sense of humor and his modest intelligence that was ever ready and willing to help his students in every way to learn.

But despite this, Professor Dragoon The Great remained a mystery. Not much was known about him by students and teachers alike and though everyone tried to get to know him, he never opened up, avoiding the questions with a clever remark or an eccentric question. All the children liked to think that they knew him well as the Professor who was eccentric but kind and clever, but they all knew that they didn't know him as much as they thought they did. In fact, all they knew about him was that he was a skilled wizard who had fought in a war long time ago which cost him his family and friends. Although his eyes held a twinkle, sometimes there was a far away look in them, as if he was dreaming of the days long gone and wishing he could have them back. Although he was friendly and kind, there were times where he exuded fear and power that made everyone quiet and obedient. Although he had a bright smile, his face would be nostalgic, brooding and thoughtful, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

But although, the students and the teachers didn't know much about him, there was one thing that they all really knew about Professor Dragoon The Great. Something that was constant and unchanging. They all knew the fondness Professor Dragoon The Great held for the swan that swam in the Great Lake at Hogwarts. It was a common sight for the students and teachers of Hogwarts to see Professor Dragoon The Great at the quiet corner of the lake, talking quietly and feeding the elegant and regal white swan in the early mornings and the dusky evenings. And it was one such lovely evening with hues of purple, pink and gold painting the sky, six students sat nearby the lake and these six students were none other than James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon. James and Lily had started to tolerate each other because their friends, Sirius and Marlene were dating each other. James behaved cheekily yet properly around Lily who managed to be civil to James for the sake of her best friend, Marlene McKinnon. This evening, they were all hanging out on the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts and Marlene lay her head on Sirius' shoulder as they held hands while whispering and laughing together in their own secret world, Remus was reading a book trying his best to ignore Sirius and Marlene, and Peter, Lily and James were chatting with each other about everything and nothing and once in a while James tried to involve Remus in their conversation, not wanting him to feel left out and lonely.

"Hey, look at that!" remarked Marlene, suddenly to the group "It's the swan again!"

And James, Sirius, Lily, Remus and Peter looked at what Marlene pointed at and saw a snowy white elegant swan playfully flap his wings making Professor Dragoon The Great smile genuinely. The swan swam elegantly as the old man watched it keenly and with utmost devoted attention.

"He's with the swan again." said Peter as he popped a chocolate frog into his mouth.

"When is he not with that bird?" laughed Marlene, making Remus frown. "Whenever I see him outside of school, he's always with that swan. It's pretty weird."

"That's not a very nice thing to say." shot back Remus who was fiercely loyal to his Defense Against Dark Arts Professor and he definitely did not like the way Marlene was speaking about Professor Dragoon The Great.

"I mean - no offense!" said Marlene raising her hands up in surrender "But, look at him. He feeds the bird, day and night."

"Plenty of people feed birds, Marls." said Sirius affectionately but he hoped that it would end there as he felt uncomfortable badmouthing the Professor who was like a father to him.

"What I mean is, he spends day and night with that bird. He talks to it, like it's a real live human." said Marlene in a conspiratorial whisper and everyone leaned into listen "Once, I heard him tell the bird that he misses him with all his heart. People say he's a nutter for that reason."

"He's not a nutter." said Lily Evans tucking a strand of her bright auburn hair behind her hair "There's a story."

"A story?" asked James in unbridled interest "Do tell, Lily Evans."

Everyone murmured and nodded in agreement and Lily prepared herself as she crossed her legs and straightened her posture.

"There's a story about why Professor Dragoon The Great loves that swan so much." began Lily as Sirius, Peter and James leaned in curiosity, Remus closed his book to listen to the story and Marlene sat straight in interest "Once, long time ago, when Professor Dragoon the Great was just a young man, he met someone. He didn't know it at the time but that person would soon become the love of his life. And that person did become the love of his life. Everything Professor Dragoon did, he did it, to keep his love safe and happy. It's said that there were no two people who were more in love with each other like they were. They spent their lives together, never a moment apart. Professor Dragoon and his love were like two sides of the same coin, they were made for each other."

"But, fate had a different plan for them." continued Lily as she looked upon a quiet James, stunned Sirius, intrigued Marlene, attentive Remus and interested Peter "There was a huge war coming up. And - and they both - they both were noble and brave - they both couldn't stand aside and watch innocent people burn so they both fought in a war that was bigger than themselves. And they fought together, they never left each other's side, they were always there for each other. But one day, the final battle, it - in the final battle the love of Professor Dragoon's life was slain. And the love of his life died in Professor Dragoon's arms and Professor Dragoon couldn't save his love."

"According to the story, part of Professor Dragoon died when his love died." said Lily feeling sad and doleful "He had always loved only his lover and he could never truly love another. And no matter what he did or where he went, Professor Dragoon never forgot his lover."

Silence greeted her as she looked to see Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Marlene sitting on the ground, silent and stunned. James' eyes were watery, Remus sniffed a little, Peter's eyes were downcast, Marlene looked crestfallen, Sirius looked somber and solemn as he looked at the Professor who was sitting at the lake, petting the white swan. Sirius couldn't help but wonder how much pain the old man was going through. To have everything he ever wanted in his life and to lose the love of his life in his own arms seemed so wretched and broken, Sirius wondered how the old man had not gone mad and wild and sought revenge. What made him so kind and gentle? Sirius knew that if he lost someone that he loved so greatly, he would not leave it alone. He would not rest until those who had killed the person he loved was bought to justice. That was the type of person that he was. But Professor Dragoon The Great was kind and patient, calm and gentle, it was impossible to imagine that he had gone through such a heartbreaking tragedy.

Remus looked at Sirius who looked thoughtful and serious and knew that he couldn't live with himself if anything happened to Sirius. He was falling for Sirius, how could he not? It was impossible not to fall in love with Sirius Black. Sirius was kind, charming, funny, clever and handsome. Sirius and Remus got along so well, it was just as if it was meant to be but Sirius could never love him. Sirius didn't love him back. And Remus didn't expect the charming and incredible Sirius to love him back. Sirius was his friend. Hell, Sirius was his best friend. He could never live without Sirius. Sirius was everything to him and he couldn't risk their incredible friendship just for some stupid crush he had. But listening to Professor Dragoon's story made Remus feel like life was too short to have regrets and in a way he did not want Sirius Black to be one of his regrets.

"They never said goodbye. They didn't want to say goodbye because they both believed that they would find their way back to each other again." said Lily "Which explains why he loves the swan so much."

Sirius, James, Peter and Marlene looked at Lily puzzled and Peter said in a confused tone "I don't understand."

It was Remus who surprised them by answering "Swans have one partner for their whole life." Remus paused as he looked at Sirius who was looking at him intensely "If their partner dies, they could die of a broken heart."

"That's right." said Lily with a small smile "And, swans are expert navigators as well. And though their course may change with seasons, they will always find their way back home."

"And, to Professor Dragoon The Great, it seems as if his lover has finally found his way back home." finished Lily with a tiny smile playing on her lips as they all watched the old man talk gently and devotedly to the swan.

"Wait?" began Marlene, laughter present but hidden in her voice "Professor Dragoon The Great thinks that his lover is that swan? That's crazy!"

"I don't think it's crazy." said Peter looking at Professor Dragoon The Great and the swan "It's - it's love."

"Love?" asked Marlene scoffing James "He is really a nutter."

"Shut up Marlene!" snapped Sirius startling everyone "He is not a nutter!"

"Calm down, Padfoot." said Remus in a calm and soothing voice and Sirius anger faded away as he looked at Remus' gentle face

"I suppose that things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect." said James with a wistful smile as they all watched Professor Dragoon The Great laugh at the swan and talk to the swan.

And after a few moments, James, Remus, Sirius, Marlene, Lily and Peter decided that they should head back to the castle. They all packed up their things and walked back to the castle laughing and chatting but still influenced and thinking about the great love story shared by Professor Dragoon The Great and his lover. Now, that they knew about this, they saw Professor Dragoon The Great in a different light. They saw him as a young man who had suffered a great loss, a grief that no one should go through but had not let the world turn his cruel and cowardly and had taken that pain, grief, anger and suffering to make the world a better place through his kindness, intelligence and talent.

Professor Dragoon The Great who was in disguise as Merlin was as always talking to the swan "Arthur, I miss you. I know. I never thought I'd say those words about you of all people clotpole."

The swan looked at Merlin so regally and sympathetically, Merlin had a hard time disbelieving he wasn't Arthur "Arthur, come on. I've been waiting for you. I think I'm going mad. Hell, I've already gone mad. I'm talking to a bird thinking that it's you!"

"It is you, isn't it?" asked Merlin in a broken voice "I don't know what to think. I - Oh, I'm so lonely, Arthur."

"People say that if two hearts are meant to be together, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far they go, fate will bring them together to share their love forever." said Merlin in a low and unhappy voice "And - and I love you Arthur! I love you with all my soul! But I don't trust fate. Fate's been such a bitch to me."

The swan glared at Merlin as if reprimanding him to mind his language and Merlin laughed a little "Waiting for you, Arthur Pendragon, is like waiting for rain in a drought. Useless and disappointing."

"But, I won't give up on you." said Merlin reverently and devotedly, tears streaming down his face as the swan looked at him sadly "So don't give up on me, eh?"


	10. Merlin Meets Lord Voldemort

The snow crunched under the boots of the Marauders as they walked in Hogsmeade together, huddled together for warmth, buried under their bright scarves, woolen caps, warm coats and jackets. Their cheeks were a healthy rosy pink as they laughed about a prank that they pulled on Slytherins a day ago, which turned all the Slytherins elegant green robes into bright neon pink. It was particularly comical for the Marauders to see Severus Snape's face flushing into an angry and unbecoming purple as he walked along the corridors of Hogwarts in the brightest and eye - damaging pink that got a lot of catcalls and teasing remarks from everyone. But of course, Professor Dragoon The Great had found a way to set things right as he was the Head of Slytherin, and within the evening the Slytherins robes turned back into their normal green color to the relief of all the Slytherins and the disappointment of the Marauders.

"We should plan another one." said Sirius as he snuggled up to Remus for warmth, not noticing that Remus had frozen in shock at Sirius' proximity to him "Another Prank. It could be our ingenius 'all I want for Christmas' prank!"

"I like the sound of that." said James as he tightened the scarf around his neck and grinned at Sirius "The Marauders Grand Christmas Prank!"

"We should do it before we go home." said Peter shivering a little.

"What say you, Moony?" asked Sirius, noticing that the boy beside him was unusually quiet and had not said a word for a long time.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." said Remus sighing, thoughts of Christmas weighing on his mind.

"What's wrong, Moony?" asked Sirius and stopped walking as he looked at Remus with concern.

Remus looked at the rest of the Marauders who had stopped walking and was waiting for him to answer and he sighed "I won't be going home this Christmas. Mom and dad, they want me to stay here. They don't want to risk my safety with everything that is happening - and they say it will be safer for me here - because of my -"

"Furry little problem." supplied James helpfully and Remus looked at him pointedly but nodded. 

"You're staying in Hogwarts?" asked Peter, appalled "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want you to worry." said Remus shrugging "And besides, it's no big deal."

"No big deal! Remus, you're staying all alone in Hogwarts for Christmas!" said Sirius emphasizing greatly on every word "That is no way to spend Christmas!"

"He's right." said James nodding his head in agreement and then smiled at Remus "We're staying with you."

"What? No." protested Remus as he saw Peter and Sirius nod in agreement to James' idea "You can't stay here with me! I won't let you! You have to go home and spend Christmas with your families, where you belong!"

"Where we belong is with you." said Sirius earnestly as he took Remus' hand in his own, surprising Remus who felt shivers run through him that had nothing to do with the weather "And besides, it's not going to be a very happy Christmas at home. I'd rather spend it with you, Moony."

"But -" began Remus feeling like he should protest, but his brain was muddled, thanks to the way Sirius was looking at him with love and affection in his eyes. 

"I'm staying too." said Peter with a grin "It'll be more fun with you guys."

"Me too." said James as he put his hand on Remus' shoulder in a friendly and caring manner "Nobody should be alone on Christmas. And we're not going to let you spend your Christmas alone."

"Great!" said Sirius as he took his hand away from Remus' and Remus felt a sense of numbness at the loss of Sirius' warm hand in his "Now, that's agreed, let's talk presents!"

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?" asked Remus, giving up and smiling happily at the three boys who were miraculously his best friends.

"Nope!" said James as he slung an arm around Remus. "We're always going to be with you, Moony!"

"What an honor." remarked Remus sarcastically and it made all of them laugh as they continued walking. 

"Hey, are you alright?" asked James in a low voice as Sirius and Peter walked ahead of them, both of them chattering about who they wanted to snog under the mistletoe. 

"I'm good." said Remus as he looked at James who was looking at him in concern, wondering why James would ask such a question.

James knew that wasn't entirely true because he wasn't blind. Well he was blind without his glasses but that is not the point. James wasn't oblivious as everyone thought he was, because he had seen the longing, loving and pained way Remus would look at Sirius for too long, for it to be friendly. He knew that Remus had a crush on Sirius and it hurt James that he couldn't help Remus through it because Remus didn't confide in him about his feelings for Sirius. But James tried to do little things like sitting with and talking nonsense to Remus when Sirius was sitting and laughing with Marlene in classes, making more trouble than usual so Remus could be distracted from his thoughts about Sirius, and trying to distract Remus whenever Sirius would snog Marlene in front of them. James wanted Remus to trust him and confide in him but he also wanted Remus to confide in him when he was ready to. 

"Just so you know, if there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you." said James with an understanding smile.

"I know." said Remus looking at James in a puzzled manner and then smiled at him "I know, Prongs."

James tightened his grip around Remus, pulling him closer as he grinned at his best friend "Good. By the way, what are you planning on getting me for Christmas?"

But before Remus could reply, they were interrupted by the sound of laughter and angry yelling. They looked to see Peter and Sirius high - fiving each other and laughing at Severus Snape who looked angry enough to punch them and Lily who had crossed her arms and was saying something defiantly to them.

"Bloody hell." sighed James Potter running his hand through his hair.

"What the bloody fucking hell!" swore Remus, making James chuckle at his best friend's colorful language "Let's just stop them before anyone gets killed."

As they walked towards their friends, they heard Lily say to Sirius "Sod off, Black! Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?"

Sirius turned dangerously pale at the mention of his parents and Remus and James reached him in time and together in unison defended their best friend by saying with strong voices "That's enough!"<

Remus put his hand on Sirius' shoulder comfortingly and James took one look at Sirius and knew that Lily's words had triggered the cruel memories of the Black family. 

James would normally flirt with Lily but this time he remained civil as he looked at her straight in the green eyes and said "It's Christmas time. Let's stop quarreling and try to get along with each other."

Lily was taken aback at James' grown up manner and his no nonsense tone of voice and couldn't find the words but Severus Snape sneered at them "Oh look, it's Potter playing the hero and Lupin - Lupin, what are you playing?"

Severus' voice mockingly insinuated that Remus was playing Sirius' lover and James saw Remus turn his head sharply towards Severus. Severus Snape was making fun of Remus and trying to hurt him but James gritted his teeth, knowing that no one would get to hurt Remus Lupin as long as he lived and breathed. 

Before anyone could say anything, James snapped at Severus "Why don't you take your crooked nose out of the places that it doesn't belong and leave us alone?"

"Don't talk to him like that!" said another sharp and bold voice and James rolled his eyes, knowing that it was none other than Lily Evans.

James smiled pleasantly at Lily "Hello there, Lillian. Didn't see you there. Why do you keep defending this slimy git when you know deep down it's going to come back and bite you?"

"My name is Lily." said Lily with a glare so fierce, that it could melt snow and ice "And he's my friend."

Severus Snape smiled at Lily and James felt sick in his stomach "That's very nice of you. You hear that, Snape? You're just her friend, Snape."

Severus turned a dark shade of red as Sirius began to bark with laughter and Lily frowned at James "You're horrible. You don't care about anyone or anything but yourself."

"Don't talk to him like that." snapped Remus and Lily was taken aback in shock because Remus was always pleasant, kind and nice to her. "He's a better man than Snivellus will ever be."

James was taken aback at Remus' sudden outburst because Remus was normally pleasant and easygoing but he smiled happily and proudly at Remus who nodded at him. But their moment was interrupted when sudden screams were heard from shops and suddenly there were sounds of loud cracks and dark hooded cloaked people appeared and started shooting curses while laughing maniacally that erupted in people screaming and crying for help and falling onto the ground and shops and homes were suddenly ablaze with fire. Their hearts stopped in horror as they realized what was happening.

There were Death Eaters launching an attack in Hogsmeade. And they were all caught in the middle of it.

James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Severus and Lily stood frozen and terrified for a moment watching everything burn down but suddenly a Death Eater shot a curse towards them but they were protected by quick yell of "Protego" which shielded them from getting hurt. They looked to see who had cast the spell, to see James Potter holding his wand out, looking steady and calm. 

James looked at Lily and then Severus "Snape, take Lily back to the castle safely. NOW!"

Severus and James may have been enemies but Severus understood the importance of James' request to argue back with him. Because if there was one thing that Severus and James had in common, it was their love for Lily that wanted to keep her safe and alive. But Lily stubbornly protested "No way! I want to stay here and fight with you!"

"Lily, listen to me!" said James urgently as Sirius, Peter, Remus and Severus leaped into action in fighting against the Death Eaters "This isn't up for debate! This isn't a drill! You're a Muggle Born and you're life is in danger! These people - Expelliarmus !" yelled James as he leaped in front of Lily and shot a Death Eater right in the chest, making him fall hard onto the ground "They want to kill you."

"I know." said Lily fiercely and she pointed her own wand as she yelled the stunning spell, making the Death Eater behind James fly behind and fall onto the ground "I want to stay here."

James stopped fighting and Sirius started to cover for him. He looked at Lily earnestly and took her gently but firmly by the shoulders "Listen to me! I can't lose you! If you want to help, get to Hogwarts and get us help now!"

Lily looked at James, not knowing what to say but James yelled "Snape! Take her safely NOW!"

Severus nodded and took Lily's hand and they both fought through the string of curses and spells that were thrown at them as they made it to Hogwarts. Meanwhile Sirius and Remus were dueling a few Death Eaters together while Peter was putting out a fire that was burning down a shop. James saw that a man with a dark black coat, grey hair and a dark bead with sharp, shining teeth was creeping up towards Peter with a greedy smile and panic filled James as he ran towards Peter, pointing his wand at the strange man and yelled "Levicorpus!"

The man was suddenly hanging upside down and Peter turned back in alarm to see a growling and angry man hanging upside down and behind him a relieved James Potter. Peter ran towards James and hugged him briefly and said "I owe you one mate."

"No need." said James with a smile "Let's go save the others."

James and Peter looked around to see Remus and Sirius missing. They looked at each other with determination and nodded in silent understanding. They ran through the village fending off curses and spells and defending many people from Death Eaters while searching for Sirius and Remus. In the middle of all the chaos, they saw Remus battling three Death Eaters. Remus was incredible but he was slowly losing. 

James points his wand at the second Death Eater that Remus is battling and yells "Petrificius Totalus!" while Peter points his wand at the third Death Eater and shouts "Diffindo!"

James and Peter doesn't mind when one Death Eater falls to the ground in a frozen like manner and another starts bleeding severely. There was no time to think about the consequences of their actions. This was war. This was the time to think about saving their best friends from death and doom. 

Remus then knocks off the Death Eater unconscious and runs towards Peter and James, his hair wildly disheveled, his jacket ripped and his eyes filled with relief as he hugs both of his best friends, that he thought for a brief moment that he might never see again "Thank you for the help."

"Anytime." said James, his hair sticking up like a crows nest and his glasses askew "Where's Sirius?"

"I couldn't stop him." began Remus, his voice border-lining hysterical "He said something about saving Regulus - ran away -"

"Protego!" yelled Peter shielding them from a curse that had been shot their way.

"Expelliarmus!" yelled James at the Death Eater who almost cursed them and then turned to Remus "Let's go find him now!"

"He said something about Madame Puddifoot's" shouted Remus over the screaming and smoke "Something about -"

"Keep close!" yelled James as he defended himself and his best friends "Be careful!"

James, Peter and Remus soon reached Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop which was located on the side of the High Street in Hogsmeade village. To their great surprise, the tacky pink colored shop was not burning down as they had expected. They looked through the windows but could not see anything except an empty shop with shattered tea cups and fallen chairs and tables, all messed up and out of place. 

"Sirius isn't here." said Peter as he sneaked a peek through the windows.

"Oh he's here." said Remus, his eyes glinting with knowing and determination.

"How do you know?" asked Peter looking at Remus.

"Open your eyes, Wormtail." said James with a grim look on his face "It's the only shop that isn't burning down."

"So?" asked Peter and Remus rolled his eyes.

"So that means Sirius and Regulus are probably in here and they are held as hostages by Death Eaters who don't want us to know." said Remus as he tried opening the door by pushing the door handle but it wasn't working "Fuck! This door isn't budging!"

"Oh, Merlin's saggy balls, Remus, are you a fucking wizard or not?" asked James with a huge sigh and shaking his head at Remus, he pointed his wand at the door while his friends stood back and he yelled "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!!!"

James spell caused a violent and large explosion, demolishing the whole front wall of Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop, startling both Remus and Peter who leaped back in time dragging James with them. Remus and Peter looked in awe and fear at James who looked a little proud of himself. 

Then Peter looked at James with raised eyebrows "You're paying for that."

They walked into Madame Puddifoot's to see Sirius and Regulus tied up in invisible ropes surrounded by wizards and witches in silver masks and dark hoods and black robes pointing their wands at the three intruding Marauders. Peter squeaked in fear, his hold on his wand shaking as he felt shivers of fright run through him, Remus looked steady and calm as he kept a good grip on his wand and James grinned pleasantly at the dark hooded wizards and witches as he pointed his wand dangerously.

"Hello there. We would like your finest tea. Also we came to get our friends back."

Remus' lips twitched but his eyes were on Sirius the whole time. He looked at Sirius, secretly promising him that he will get him out safe and sound. 

One Death Eater laughed as she pointed her wand towards James and said "Crucio!"

Sirius screamed in horror but the spell never reached James because Remus had yelled out "Protego" which protected James from the evil and cruelty of the curse and had bounced back and inflicted on the woman who cast it, who was now on the floor writhing in pain and torment. James and Remus flinched at the sight but Peter watched her in fascination.

"If you want to hurt us, you have to try better than that." said Remus calmly and smoothly, but there was a hint of danger to his voice "NOW, give us Sirius and Regulus, and we'll be on our way back!"

An high pitched laugh echoed from behind the Death Eaters and all the Death Eaters moved away allowing a man with a pale face which wore a maniacal smile, glide forwards in his dark black robes. His eyes were dark black slits filled with hatred and malice and James, Peter and Remus froze in horror and terror as they watched the man, the wizard they had heard so much about, come to life right in front of them. Here was the wizard who had killed millions of muggles, tortured so many half - breeds, manipulated so many wizards and witches into joining his horrifying cause to cleanse the wizarding world.

The three boys felt sick as they watched Lord Voldemort walk towards them and stop right in front of Sirius and Regulus. 

"You are incredibly brave." said Lord Voldemort, in a manner that sent shivers down all three boys spines "But you are also very foolish."

"You!" spat James Potter, speaking up after being paralyzed in silence "You, sick son of a bitch!"

"James!" reprimanded Peter in fright, not knowing what the Dark Lord would do to his best friend if he continued 

The Dark Lord smiled evilly at them "I admire courage and cleverness. I see potential in you to achieve greatness."

Remus looked at Lord Voldemort "Are you asking us to join you in your psychopathic quest to murder all muggles?"

"Join me and I will teach you everything you never knew but always needed." said Lord Voldemort with a dark smile "I can help you on your way to greatness."

James, Remus and Peter looked at each other and pretended to think about it and then Remus looked at Lord Voldemort "That sounds really tempting -"

"But we are already great." said James with a smile directed at Remus and Peter who nodded at his words "So, no, thank you."

"You're making a mistake, you bastards." began a man with blonde hair "You should be honored! The Dark Lord only asks the best -"

"Silencio!" commanded James with a smile and all sound ceased coming out of the Death Eater's mouth "That's better."

Lord Voldemort looked at the three boys and then walked towards Sirius and Regulus. He looked at Sirius with interest in his malicious eyes "Sirius Black. Your family are some of the finest people I have ever met. Your mother and father are dedicated to my cause. Don't you want to make them proud by joining me?"

Sirius smiled at Lord Voldemort and then spat at him "Go to hell!"

"Are you sure?" asked Lord Voldemort softly and scornfully "You are the family disappointment after all. The Black who was sorted into Gryffindor. But I admire bravery. It takes bravery to join the right cause. And joining my side, will win you your parents approval. Isn't that all you've ever wanted?"

Sirius hesitated for a moment and Lord Voldemort's eyes glinted with triumph but a cold voice cut through "You are terribly mistaken. Sirius is not and never will be a disappointment."

Sirius looked to see Remus Lupin staring at Lord Voldemort coldly and he could feel warmth rushing through him at those words as it pulled him away from the edge. He could feel his heart beating, scared for Remus, praying that Lord Voldemort wouldn't do anything to hurt him.

"Sirius, don't listen to this asshole." said James boldly and Sirius grinned at James "I'm proud of you, mate. He's just trying to manipulate you into doing what he wants. He doesn't give a shit about you."

"Do not listen to them Sirius Black." said Lord Voldemort "They are your weakness. They are just your friends."

Sirius smiled at Lord Voldemort "No, they're my family." And he glared coldly back at him "And I will never join your murderous and horrendous cause. You think that muggle borns are some sort of threat to us but they are not. They're brilliant and amazing and talented and equal to us." Sirius ignored the gasps of shock around him as he continued "You will lose and I will make sure of that because hatred such as yours will never win."

"You are a bitter disappointment." said Lord Voldemort in a cutting and bitter voice and Sirius flinched internally but kept a brave and strong face.

"Don't talk to him like that!" snapped James, Remus and Peter together and James said in a strong voice "Let Sirius and Regulus go!"

"Regulus Black, my dear child." said Lord Voldemort, turning to Regulus who recoiled under the Dark Lord's look.

"Don't you fucking touch him!" yelled Sirius but he was silenced by a spell.

"Don't be like your brother." said Lord Voldemort softly "Be brave to put your family first. Join me and fight by my side."

"He is not doing that." said James not letting Regulus speak.

"Regulus Black. You are an extraordinary wizard." said Lord Voldemort as he looked at the expressionless boy "Join me and we will do great things together."

"He won't be joining you." said Sirius Black bravely defending his little brother "You have to go through me before you get to my brother!"

"NO!" yelled Regulus in horror and fright as the Dark Lord smiled cruelly and raised his wand and pointed it to Sirius "AVADA -"

"STAY AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN, YOU SON OF A BITCH !!!!" yelled a loud and angry voice that Lord Voldemort hadn't heard before, a voice that James, Remus, Peter, Sirius and Regulus recognized immediately, a voice that they trusted to keep them safe, a voice that bought them relief "ALARTE ASCENDARE !!!"

Merlin's appearence had taken Lord Voldemort by surprise and therefore he didn't have time to quickly defend himself. So Merlin's spell hit Lord Voldemort straight in the chest and shot him up high into the air while everyone watched in fascination as Lord Voldemort fell onto the ground. Merlin, then quickly flicked his wand, loosening the invisible ropes binding Sirius and Regulus and they both quickly got up and ran towards James, Peter and Remus who were behind Professor Dragoon The Great. All the Death Eaters had taken out their wands and was now shooting spells at Professor Dragoon The Great and Merlin conjured up a powerful shielding charm that covered all of them from getting hurt from the dangerous spells and curses that were coming their way.

"Professor!" said Sirius in relief as he clung onto Professor Dragoon The Great's robes "Thank Merlin you're here! How did -"

"How did I find you?" asked Merlin, reinforcing the shielding charm again in order to protect his students "I used my skills in the area of Defense Against Dark Arts to track you down."

"Professor, you can't keep on shielding us any longer!" said Remus looking around at the shield charm which was getting weaker and weaker "We have to fight!"

"We?" asked Professor Dragoon The Great in shock "No, you lot are going back to Hogwarts right now!"

"We're not going to leave you here alone!" protested James indignantly.

"I can handle myself. You are students, and you are under my care." said Professor Dragoon The Great and at that very moment the shield protecting them broke and all of them began to defend themselves against Death Eaters. Professor Dragoon The Great "I cannot have you die."

"Hold onto the phoenix." said Professor Dragoon The Great as he stopped a Death Eater's curse from reaching Remus and then stunned another Death Eater who was about to hurt Regulus.

They all looked at him, confused and Regulus asked "Professor what the hell -

Suddenly a large swan-sized scarlet bird with red and gold plumage, along with a golden beak and talons, black eyes, and a tail as long as a peacock's swooped in, startling everyone and Remus nodded at the group, and jumped up and grabbed the bird's tail feather and held out his hand to James, who took hold of Peter's hand and Sirius took hold of Peter's hand and grabbed Regulus and the crimson bird disappeared in bursts of flames, taking the five boys back safely to the hospital wing in Hogwarts, where Madame Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall was anxiously awaiting their return with loads of healing potions, hot tea and ginger biscuits. 

Merlin who was disguised as Professor Dragoon The Great sighed in relief because he knew that the five boys would be safe and that the staff at Hogwarts would do everything they can do help and settle them down. As he watched Lord Voldemort hide behind his followers and preparing to apparate, Merlin felt a great surge of anger and rage towards Voldemort who had killed millions of innocent people who were brilliant and talented and kind, people who could have contributed to the advancement of the field of magic. He was looking at the wizard who had killed not just muggles with magic but was set on killing muggles without magic, innocent people who knew nothing of the wizarding world. He feels anger and rage rush through him, as he sees the man who tried to recruit innocent children for his horrifying cause, to do his dirty work because he was too cowardly to get his hands dirty and who tried to kill Merlin's children when they refused to pledge allegiances with him. Merlin was not having Lord Voldemort, come into Hogsmeade, violate and burn everything down according to his whim, hurt the people he love and just leave. No, Lord Voldemort was not escaping from Merlin!

And his anger and hurt was so great, that Merlin put down his wand and his cerulean blue eyes mercilessly flared into a shining, pure, gold as all the Death Eaters who were fighting against him dropped dead at his feet. 

This was a dangerous and very stupid thing to do. Because Lord Voldemort's attention was now solely on the old man with a gloriously long snowy white beard who had just taken out twenty Death Eaters without a single spell. 

"Who are you?" asked Lord Voldemort, his voice filled with interest and curiosity. 

"I'm the man that's going to stop you from ever hurting anyone again." said Merlin, danger dripping in his voice.

Lord Voldemort laughed, it was high pitched and cruel "You can try! Imperio!"

"Anteoculatia!" said Merlin lazily and watched in amusement the results of his spell grow. It was almost comical to see antlers growing from Lord Voldemort's bald and pasty head and Merlin had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at how the Dark Wizard's face turned confused and then outraged as he discovered the effects of the spell. He wished that James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were here to see his work but knowing that they were safe kept him satisfied. 

"How dare you!" yelled Lord Voldemort in outrage "Crucio!"

"Protego." said Merlin immediately and the shield charm appeared and protected him.

"You are too powerful to be a Professor at Hogwarts." said Lord Voldemort as he sent another spell Merlin's way, which Merlin successfully avoided "Who are you?"

"I'm the Head of Slytherin House." said Merlin with a cheeky smirk, shocking Lord Voldemort and then Merlin's face became serious and hard "And as the Head of Slytherin, I am so disappointed in you."

"I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed !!! I have become a legend, a name that all wizards everywhere to this day fear to speak!" said Lord Voldemort his face shining with madness "And you, you insignificant teacher who is not worthy to be the Head of Slytherin, has the nerve to tell me that my ancestor Salazar Slytherin would not be proud of me?"

"But what is the price that you have paid for your greatness?" asked Merlin in disgust "How many lives must be sacrificed for your dreams of glory?"

"You are speaking of the Mudbloods?" asked Lord Voldemort cackling "Mudbloods are impure and unworthy of possessing magical ability, and they do not deserve a claim to our ancient wizarding heritage. We must seek to purge the world of the impure and filthy Mudbloods!"

Merlin looked at Lord Voldemort with a thoughtful expression "Then I suppose you should kill yourself too."

"I am no filthy Mudblood!" roared Lord Voldemort in outrage at the insult as he shot another curse at Merlin who skillfully defended himself from it.

"No, but you possess the blood of a Muggle - Born." said Merlin knowingly, as he smiled in pleasure at Lord Voldemort crumbling in surprise at the fact that Merlin knew his secret "You're a half - blood. And I don't know if you know this, but a half blood is someone who is part Pure - Blood and part Muggle - Born."

"How do you know this?" asked Lord Voldemort in shock. 

Merlin enjoyed this, knowing that not many people were able to shock Lord Voldemort "Oh, don't worry, you're secret is safe with me. But you're being a hypocrite, killing your own kind."

"I am not a Mudblood!" said Lord Voldemort in anger as he shot a series of spells which Merlin quickly and skillfully countered to "I am Lord Voldemort!"

"Stop this madness!" yelled Merlin ducking another curse "Can't you see what you're doing is evil and loathsome?" 

"There is no good or evil! There is only power and those too weak to seek it." said Lord Voldemort laughing evilly as Merlin ducked behind a table to avoid a curse.

"You're fucking delusional!" yelled Merlin as he threw a few curses at Lord Voldemort "I won't let you win! You're not the Dark Lord, you're just an insecure and scared little boy who is ashamed of himself !!!" 

"I am the greatest sorcerer in the world!" laughed Lord Voldemort as he sent the Killing Curse at Merlin who countered it cleverly with a Blasting Curse.

"That is offensive and rude." said Merlin, feeling offended at Lord Voldemort's words "Everyone in the wizarding world and the muggle world knows that Merlin is the greatest sorcerer that ever walked on Earth."

"You think you're going to stop me?" asked Lord Voldemort, his lips curling into a conniving smile. "I am not scared of you."

Merlin shrugged as he looked behind Lord Voldemort pointedly "Perhaps not. But you are scared of him."

Lord Voldemort turned around to see Professor Albus Dumbledore standing behind him and his face flashed in fright for one moment as the elderly man greeted him pleasantly "Good evening, Tom."

"Dumbledore." greeted Lord Voldemort who felt like little Tom Riddle in the orphanage but he did not show that on his face.

"You have made a mistake coming here, Tom." said Albus Dumbledore to Lord Voldemort while Merlin stood behind them covered in soot and dirt with a grim expression "The Aurors are on their way to arrest you now."

"Then the time has come for me to say goodbye." said Lord Voldemort with a cunning smile and as Merlin took a step forward with his wand held up to take him down, Lord Voldemort apparated and disappeared.

Merlin stood speechless and dumbfounded, staring at the empty spot that Lord Voldemort had been standing a moment ago and then he looked at Albus Dumbledore who was standing there calmly as if nothing had happened. 

Anger seized Merlin as he marched towards Albus Dumbledore "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?"

"My dear friend, what are you -" began Albus Dumbledore, in mild surprise but Merlin was done with Dumbledore's games.

"A mass murderer, a Dark Wizard was standing right in front of you and you didn't apprehend him? You didn't take him down!" yelled Merlin angrily "He hurt many civilians and burnt down Hogsmeade and tried to recruit our students and you let him get away?"

"I couldn't do anything. He got away -" began Albus Dumbledore but he was interrupted by Merlin's sharp voice.

"I called you because you were the only person I knew that Lord Voldemort - Tom Riddle - is scared of !!!!" yelled Merlin loudly, not caring about anything or anyone "But what do you do? You waltz in here, you warn him that the Aurors are coming and you let him get away easily! Are you FUCKING STUPID?"

"Language!" snapped Albus Dumbledore and he looked firm and unwavering "May I remind you that you are addressing the Headmaster of Hogwarts, under who you are currently employed?"

"I don't give a damn!" snarled back Merlin, his eyes flashing a dangerous gold "You let a mad mass murderer get away and now he has the chance to destroy more innocent lives! I will never forgive you for this!"

And with those words, Merlin marched out of the destroyed Madame Puddifoot's into the cold winter as he stormed back angrily into Hogsmeade with the goal of helping out anyone who was hurt or injured, with hot tears pouring down his cheeks, hating himself for not being the one to act faster and stop Lord Voldemort.


End file.
